I Will Never Be Yours
by PaperCutVictim
Summary: As a girl who turned down confessions from both genders on a regular basis, Megurine Luka had no reason to believe that rejecting Hatsune Miku would be any different. How wrong she was...
1. Chapter 1

This is my first attempt at a chaptered story in... forever. XD "The Hangover and Other Misadventures" doesn't count, since it's a series of one shots. XP I've got a pretty good idea on how I wanna go with this, and I'm not expecting this to run for very long, maybe just a handful of chapters. I think embarking on an epic 40 chapter fic for my first attempt would be just a tad ambitious. XD

Originally, this was going to be a one shot to go into my other fic, but it eventually evolved to be to a point that it could've been a series of one shots on its own. It... kinda will turn out that way, I think, assuming it sticks to the way I've got it in my head. Well, either way, hope you guys enjoy! :D

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing save for this humble piece of fanfiction.

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

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><p>Of all the shining stars at Yamaha High School, there was one that was constantly a popular topic of discussion. Ever since she had been a first year, Megurine Luka had been popular throughout the school. What was not to like, after all? Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but she was also one of the top students in the school, consistently displaying excellent grades and test scores, and was also easily the best player of the school's girls' tennis club, in addition to an all-around formidable athlete. About her only flaw as far as anyone could see was that she had an extremely cold personality, and even this only served to make her seem all the more attractive to her admirers. Her coldness, it was said, added an aura of mystery to her, making her seem even more untouchable than she already was. She herself was practically a legend at the school: Megurine Luka, the Ice Princess of Yamaha High School.<p>

It was her friend Lily who had come up with that terrible nickname, and there was not a day that passed that Luka didn't feel like slamming a racket onto her head for ever introducing the world to that hideous title of hers.

Admirers and members of Luka's fan club were legion, and as a result, she regularly received attempts at confessions from both boys and girls. And every last one of them would be coldly rejected. People stopped keeping track of the attempts after the fiftieth one was shot down during her first year. Nevertheless, those who dared muster up the courage to confess their feelings to the Ice Princess and get shot down were admired by the school for their boldness, and served as inspiration to those who would make their own attempts in the future.

Needless to say, Luka always found herself extremely annoyed by this.

She was now a second-year at Yamaha High, and there was simply no end in sight to her mind-boggling popularity. But frankly, she could care less whether she was hated or worshipped (which she practically was... there had been rumors of animal sacrifices offered in her name, but she suspected that was more of Lily's over-sensationalism). Luka was simply content to live as she pleased, and to hang out with her small group of friends, all of whom she had known at least since junior high. Aside from ridiculous amounts of popularity, she thought of herself as a normal girl just having a normal high school life, minus truckloads of confessions.

In fact, she was walking to the latest attempt right now.

Luka had opened her shoe locker that morning to see a small, otherwise nondescript envelope resting on top of her indoor shoes. Sighing, she had reached in and plucked it out to look at the contents of the letter encased within.

"Megurine Luka-san, please meet me in class 1-D after school. I will be waiting for you."

Simple. To the point. And painfully ordinary.

While other students would perhaps have been excited about receiving one of these, Luka simply thought of these as chores that she would rather not deal with. By this point in time, she had been summoned to just about every possible location in the school for these confessions, whether it was a classroom, the chemistry labs, the rooftop, behind the gym storage shed, _inside_ the gym storage shed... Some of the locations had made Luka wonder if her admirers were acting out some kind of fantasy from a rape manga or something. Perhaps it had occurred to some of her admirers to do such a thing, since by looks alone, she was ranked AA+ (more tidbits of gossip that Lily kept track of and shared with her, whether it was wanted or not), but no one had attempted anything ever since the incident with those three third years that had tried to assault her last year.

According to Lily, _none_ of them had ever been able to walk straight again after the trouncing Luka had delivered, and nearly being lynched by Luka's rampaging fan club for such a grievous and audacious attack on their Ice Princess hadn't helped either.

The remaining first years in the hallways scurried aside to make room for her, already knowing her by sight and some practically slavering over her. It was easy to imagine them staring after her with worshipful expressions and sparkles dancing around them as they sighed dreamily, "Hime-sama~!"

How irritating...

Luka stood outside the door to classroom 1-D. Idly, she wondered if she should start conducting bets to see how long it would take her to reject her admirers. Her family wasn't exactly struggling financially, but it never hurt to have extra spending money. She put that idea in the back of her head for later and decided that she should just go ahead and get this over with. To that end, Luka opened the door and stepped inside.

Her admirer for the day did not bother making herself hard to find. She sat alone in the empty classroom, perched atop the teacher's desk and absently kicking her feet as she leaned back on her hands. Her teal hair, tied into twintails, flowed down over the desk. The hue of her hair perfectly matched her nail polish as well as her wide eyes. The girl was clad in the same uniform as hers: a navy-blue and white sailor uniform. Luka recognized her as a first year named Hatsune Miku, a neighbor of hers that she mostly knew for her fascinating hair color... and that was about all she knew of her. At the sound of her entrance, Miku looked up and smiled brightly.

"Heya, Megurine-senpai! I'm glad you came!" she chirped.

Luka answered her warm, cheerful greeting with a soft grunt of acknowledgement. She walked in, not deigning to close the door behind her. No point, since she would be leaving in a few seconds anyway. She placed a hand on her hip and cocked an eyebrow at the girl in a manner that conveyed a very impatient "Well?" Unfazed, the tealette hopped off the desk and lightly onto her feet. Turning to her, she offered a sunny smile as she clasped her hands behind her back.

"I'll get right to the point, senpai! The truth is that I have fallen in love with you! Please go out with me!"

If Luka were to be paid one American dollar for every time she had heard that phrase, she would have been able to retire at the ripe old age of seventeen years old. Okay, probably not, but it would've still been a handsome chunk of change, and it would probably make her more receptive to hearing it. As it stood, she was not getting paid anything to hear that tired old phrase, and so, all that was left was just pure annoyance. And so, she replied with an instant and final, "No."

The cold politeness in Luka's tone could have frozen a swimming pool solid in the middle of a heat wave. With nothing further than a curt nod of farewell, she flipped her hair over her shoulder as she turned and walked out.

Unseen to her, the tealette that Luka had left behind so coldly tipped her head to the side, a finger resting on her chin as she frowned cutely. "Hm... That wasn't the response I was hoping for," she murmured to herself.

The frown quickly gave way to a sunny smile, though there was a distinct twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "But... that was exactly what I expected from you, senpai~"

There was very little about the first year named Hatsune Miku that Luka knew. But if she had bothered to get to know her even a little bit, she would have known what simply saying the word "No" had unleashed upon her. Unfortunately, Luka had not bothered to get to know her, and thus was oblivious to this.

_Oh well,_ Miku thought, her smile widening. _Her loss~_

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><p>She'd been quiet all day, and Luka had hoped against hope that maybe, just maybe, she'd be spared just this once. Seeing how Lily sat beside her in class, it was not unreasonable to think that if she'd heard anything juicy, then Luka would be interrogated immediately, and seeing how she'd been quiet, that <em>could <em>possibly have meant she hadn't heard anything. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Almost as soon as they had sat down at a table in the cafeteria, Lily had grinned at the pinkette, which was a signal that she was most certainly not going to be spared.

"So," Lily began slyly, "Word on the street is you got another confession yesterday."

Luka looked up to turn an icy glare on her. "Word on the street" was Lily-speak for "I am extremely nosy and unashamed of it and here's the latest bit of gossip I've picked up because I am so nosy! Did I mention I'm extremely nosy?" Perhaps it came with being part of the school's journalism club, but Masuda Lily was an incredible gossipmonger, and she _loved_ writing her articles on the latest of the Ice Princess's adventures (all of it sensationalized, of course, because telling the truth without embellishing it a bit made for poor sales... or at least, that was her defense). She was an invaluable member of the school's newspaper staff, because as a friend of Luka's, she was not only spoon-fed a steady stream of gossip and rumors surrounding one of their school's biggest stars, she was also afforded far more lenience than someone who did not know her at all. All told, the school newspaper had never been so successful in its entire history. Luka decided that she would ignore her and turned to unpacking her pink bento.

"Aha, you're ignoring me!" Lily observed. Cradling her chin in the crook between her index finger and her thumb, she said sagely, "This means that my sources were correct! Un, un!" A nod accompanied each self-satisfied noise.

The pinkette eyed her friend balefully. It was at this moment that Luka was introduced to her arch-nemesis: the seemingly innocuous notebook Lily had just whipped out. But no arch-villain is complete without an equally vile sidekick, and Luka distastefully eyed this notebook's partner: a pen that Lily withdrew from the chest pocket of her blouse. She clicked it with her thumb as the notebook (which in her eyes might as well have been a tome of ultimate evil) opened up to a blank page.

"So! Do tell!" Lily said eagerly. "Guy or girl this time?"

Luka was among those people who were cursed with the ability to recognize defeat when she saw it. Sighing in resignation, she replied, "Girl."

"Kyaa~ It must be nice to be so popular with both genders, Luka-hime-sama~!" Lily swooned in an overly exaggerated fashion as she scribbled in her latest entry.

The pinkette glowered at her. "Please do not call me that, Lily."

"Sure thing, boss," the blonde replied in an airy, insincere manner. "So pray tell, what year?"

"First year." Luka got out her chopsticks.

"Even the new bloods know about our magnificent Ice Princess~! How amazing you are, your majesty!"

Luka shook her head, already feeling a headache coming on as she imagined what the latest news article would say about her... Probably something along the lines of her being a legendary heartbreaker who shunted aside yet another admirer, leaving the poor young girl weeping with heartache, yet still unable to overcome her devotion to Yamaha High's princess...

_Ugh._

She had a pretty good idea on what would be written because Lily had a habit of triumphantly reading them out loud to her, complete with dramatic narration. And while their other friends found it amusing, Luka only felt the urge to roll up the newspaper and give Lily's head a good whack (which she sometimes did).

Presently, the annoying blonde journalist began giggling to herself. "Now I just need some time to write this up and I'll have a good article to submit by tomorrow! It's so awesome how many confessions you get, Luka-hime-sama. I never run out of things to write about! This is what, number six for this month alone?" As she asked the question, she reached out and plucked a meatball from Luka's lunch, happily ignoring the withering glare said robbed individual aimed at her, and not minding that Luka had decided against answering her question.

It never failed to amaze Luka how Lily's articles all started to sound the same after a while, and it was _still_ the most-read article of the school newspaper...

The notebook snapped shut and the pen disappeared into Lily's chest pocket. But when she looked up, there was actually a more serious expression on her face. "But, off the record now, Luka... has it ever occurred to- ow!" Lily withdrew her hand, waving it around with her fingers still smarting a little from where Luka had foiled her attempt to steal another meatball with a swift smack from her chopsticks. Picking up from where she left off, she continued, "Has it ever occurred to you to maybe give one of them a chance?"

Despite her shamelessly taking advantage of her friend's popularity for her own entertainment and that of the school, Lily actually did care about Luka's well-being (which was one of the reasons why Luka had not made mincemeat out of her already). They had been friends since junior high school, and this was always how it had been. She knew for a fact that if none of their other friends were around, Luka would be alone. In fact, at this very moment, while they waited for the others to come to their table, Lily knew that if she too had needed to buy her lunch as well, then Luka would be sitting at this table and eating alone, a mental image that she thought to be very sad. And their friends didn't always eat with them for varying reasons. Haku and Dell would eat by themselves on occasion, as would Kaito and Meiko (One of these days, Lily promised herself, she was going to get an awesome photo of one of those couples... preferably Kaito and Meiko. She could outrun both Kaito and Meiko, but Dell was the devil's own wrath if someone flustered Haku, which a sudden snapshot most certainly would), and Gakupo would sometimes hang out with the other members of the kendo club.

It wasn't that Lily felt Luka _needed _to get herself a boyfriend or girlfriend. But she felt her pink-haired friend was in dire need of expanding her borders, broadening her horizons and making a few new friends, for God's sake! And of course, no matter how many times she charged against these defenses, Lily knew exactly how this would end before she had even gotten three words in.

"No," Luka said with a dismissive air. "Not really."

And that, Lily knew, was that. The princess had pronounced her royal decree, and thus it would be (_Hey, _she realized, _that rhymed!_). With the topic now closed for discussion, she ripped open the bag that separated her from the curry bread she had bought this morning, though she aimed a final longing look at Luka's very appetizing lunch.

"Theatrics notwithstanding, you are not having anymore of my lunch," the princess declared firmly without even deigning to look up at her.

"Boo..." the blonde pouted. She went ahead and took a bite of her bread. A change of topic was in order, but first she had to finish chewing.

At least, that had been the plan. She was still in the middle of chewing when a clatter of trays caught her attention. Both girls looked up to see two blonds setting their trays down on Lily's left, smiling apologetically at the both of them. On Luka's right, a tray was set down energetically by a teal-haired girl who sang happily, "Hi-hi, Luka-senpai!"

The pinkette stared in alarm. "Hatsune-san?"

The girl's already broad smile widened even more. "Yay, you remembered my name!"

Lily glanced between the two. She then looked over at the blond twins (they _had_ to be twins; they looked far too alike not to be, she reasoned), who only shrugged helplessly in return. Obviously not getting any answers from them, she looked over at a flabbergasted Luka and blinked. "Friend of yours?"

The tealette looked over at Lily, her radiant smile not dimming in the least. "Oh, sorry to interrupt so rudely, senpai. I'm Hatsune Miku!" She then gestured toward each of the twins, her hand indicating each one as she said their respective names, "And these are Kagamine Rin-chan and Len-kun!"

The Kagamine twins offered tiny, embarrassed smiles that said, "Please don't kill me" and equally tiny, embarrassed waves that said, "What the hell am I doing here?" Smiling in a friendly manner, Lily decided she should continue the little train of introductions and said, "I'm Masuda Lily. And," she indicated Luka with a jerk of her head, "I see that you already know Megurine Luka-hime."

"Yup!" Miku chirped. "I confessed to her yesterday! She shot me down though."

Neither of the two older girls knew which was more surprising: the fact that she had admitted it so easily, or the fact that Miku had said it without the slightest loss of enthusiasm. While Lily's brain was still trying to compute this, Luka asked, "Which begs the question... why are you here?"

Miku blinked, temporarily pausing in the middle of unpacking her bento. "Why? Why wouldn't I be?" Grinning again, she said, "I like you, so I want to be with you! It's only natural, isn't it?"

"But not when you've been rejected!" Luka exclaimed. What the hell was wrong with this girl?

Miku's smile faded into a cutely confused expression. "Really?" She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, her index finger on her chin in a thoughtful appearance. "Hm... I'm a bit new to this whole 'like' thing, so I didn't know that..."

It could be inferred from the way the Kagamine twins sweatdropped simultaneously that Miku was just playing dumb. And Lily was most certainly not on her side, seeing how she was grinning cheerfully and clearly taking it all in stride. Again, Luka felt that there really was no fighting this, so she sighed in defeat.

"Oh, do what you want."

Smiling again, Miku cheered, "I sure will!" She sat down to eat her lunch. Beside her, Luka shook her head in dismay. This was certainly a first out of any of her admirers... All of the ones that confessed to her and got subsequently shot down always acted hurt at first, then acted like she was some sort of goddess... worshipping the ground she walked on and then acting like being rejected by her was some sort of holy experience. Never had any of them come back for another try... and it didn't seem like that was exactly what this girl was doing either.

_Whatever._ There was no problem with indulging her just this once, and shooing her away was just too much trouble, seeing what a blockhead she was. Luka returned her attention to her lunch, but stole a curious glance over to her right to see what she was eating. Luka blinked. It seemed to be some sort of pasta dish, with tuna and leeks.

"That... looks pretty good," Luka admitted quietly.

Miku beamed. "Thanks! I made it myself! Leeks are my favorite food, and it's kinda funny, cuz before, I never thought too much about tuna and leeks together, but they make a pretty good combo!" As if to demonstrate, she hungrily took a big mouthful of her tasty confection.

Luka had to admit, it did sound pretty good. Tuna was her favorite food, so that alone made it score some big brownie points with her. And... leeks weren't... so bad. They actually did go pretty well with tuna and-

She froze as a chill shot up her spine. She turned her ice-blue eyes ahead of herself. Lo and behold, before her was the proof that her bad feeling was correct, with Lily's gigantic, cheesy grin threatening to rip her face in two.

"Tuna and leeks, huh?" she said unnecessarily loudly. "Gee, that really does sound good! And they complement each other so well... They make a perfect pa- OW!"

Luka had long since turned back to her lunch, eating with her usual frosty aura emanating from her and acting like nothing unusual had happened. Like, for example, a noisy blonde girl getting kicked in the shin beneath their table.

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><p>Over the course of the meal, the rest of their friends had come by to eat with them and found themselves surprised to be introduced to Luka's latest admirer and the twins, who initially seemed a bit intimidated about being introduced to upperclassmen. Luckily, Luka's friends were a nicer sort than she was (even Honne Dell, who was a perpetual grouch that only seemed to lighten up somewhat around Haku), and they quickly accepted the newcomers, even seeming glad to have new sources of conversation at the table.<p>

The only one who seemed annoyed was the princess herself.

Lunch passed much more peacefully than she had anticipated, however. As soon as Hatsune Miku had made herself comfortable sitting beside her, Luka had mentally prepared herself for being harassed constantly throughout her meal with pathetic attempts at conversation that would go absolutely nowhere, or even attempts to "accidentally" make physical contact with her. To her surprise, Miku did nothing of the sort, and in fact spent more time talking with her friends or the other upperclassmen than with her. Anytime Luka cast a suspicious gaze over to her, the tealette would merely offer a kind, easygoing smile to her. Truthfully, she seemed content to just sit beside her and eat.

At the end of the lunch period, they all separated to go to their respective classes. Miku waved energetically over her shoulder at Luka while calling happily across the lunchroom, "Bye, senpai! See you later!"

Instead of Luka returning the wave, it was Lily who did so, smiling as she did. Instead, Luka was sighing in exasperation.

"Does that girl have absolutely no concept of shame or modesty?" she ground out irritably.

"Aww, don't be like that, hime-sama! Miku-chan seems like a cute kid, and a really nice girl to boot!" Lily said lightly, once more displaying her penchant for becoming very familiar with people in a hurry. Teasingly, she added, "I'm almost jealous that you get to have attentions from someone like her!"

Luka huffed and flipped her hair dismissively over her shoulder. "If I see her again, it will be far too soon. I probably won't even be seeing her again."

"I dunno," her blonde friend said thoughtfully. "I think we'll be seeing a lotta her. Ooh, this should be a new entry in my notebook!"

Another sigh fell from Luka's lips, earnestly hoping that she was right, because otherwise, she would be getting a _lot_ of headaches...

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><p>As it turned out, Luka's prediction that she would never see Hatsune Miku again turned out to be wildly inaccurate. In fact, she did see her again. Right after school, to be exact.<p>

To be even more exact, right after she had finished changing her shoes from her school-issued ones to the sneakers she usually wore.

The tealette had practically teleported in front of her in the brief time it had taken to switch shoes, so the sight of her gigantic grin was more than a little shocking, which Luka expressed through a deadpan expression that did not exactly accurately convey her surprise.

"Um..."

"Ne, senpai, you don't have tennis practice today, so you just head straight home anyway, right? So I was hoping we could go home together!"

It was true what her annoyingly persistent admirer had to say. Luka saw no point to hanging around the school when she had no reason to, so she would just head straight home, maybe do a little window shopping on the way. However, she was less than impressed with Miku's knowledge of her habits, and sure as hell saw no reason to entertain her. So, with little more than a firm and final, "No," Luka began to walk home.

To her irritation, the word "No" either translated into "Yes" in Miku-speak, or simply did not exist in her vocabulary, because Luka found herself saddled with an unwanted companion for her walk back. It was almost like some kind of irritating NPC in an RPG that would just invite themselves into your party whether you wanted them or not... and somehow, she was imagining the text "Hatsune Miku has joined your party!" appearing over her head. While ordinarily, such a thing might have been amusing (and she blamed Kaito and Gakupo for her secret love of video games), today, it just made her eye twitch. But whatever. The little pest could do as she pleased; she wasn't going to let it bother her one bit!

The tealette continued to walk beside her in silence, her mouth set into a happy smile as she trotted alongside her senpai. Luka's eye twitched again. The brat was making absolutely _no_ effort to even pretend to be intending to go to a different destination... They, or rather, Luka was attracting nervous stares from some of the other pedestrians on the sidewalk, all of them feeling the irritation that rolled off of her in waves. As they crossed at a light, Luka subtly increased her pace, which Miku matched without missing a beat.

When they had entered the neighborhood Luka lived in, she could take no more. Whirling on the younger girl with her hands on her hips, she snarled, "What part of 'No' do you not understand?"

Miku looked up at her with wide-eyed innocence. "Nothing, senpai. I understood you perfectly well when you said that you didn't want to walk home with me."

"Then why are you following me?" Luka demanded, her voice more than a tad shriller than she'd intended.

"I'm not," the pest replied. Her broad smile carried a hint of mischief in it that sent a chill up the pinkette's spine. "I'm just trying to get home myself. It just so happens that the route I need to take is the same that you take. After all, I do live across the street from you."

Luka opened her mouth to shout at her but then closed it as she mulled this over. Come to think of it... when she stepped outside the gate of her family's house, she could get a pretty good glimpse of the houses across the street, and... there was a house _directly_ across the street that had a teal-haired daughter... and the nameplate, she realized with a sinking feeling in her stomach, said "Hatsune". So... this brat... lived across the street from her.

Across the street.

_Across_ the _street._

Across the freaking, stupid, god damn, piece of...

She sucked in a deep breath to calm herself down, but still had to fight every last nerve in her body to keep from facepalming. Glowering darkly at Miku, she ground out, "You."

"Me?" Miku asked sweetly.

"Do you intend to do this everyday from now on?"

"Of course," Miku replied. Her tone suggested this was the most obvious thing in the world. "How else am I to get home?"

This time, Luka _did_ facepalm.

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><p>Because she always carried herself like a prim and proper young lady outside of her home, it would have come as an incredible shock to anyone who ever found out that, contrary to her image, Megurine Luka was an incredibly lazy and useless sloth in the mornings. It often took her mother, Megurine Yukari, at least three attempts to wake her daughter up in the mornings, and when Luka managed to drag herself down the stairs, she would often wait for breakfast with her head pressed against the table, having slammed there as soon as she sat down. To her credit, at least she didn't regularly have to sprint to school, fleeing out the door half-dressed and screaming, "I'm late!"<p>

This wasn't to say she hadn't done it a few times though.

But in her defense, she couldn't help it. No one liked waking up in the morning for school or work (she only needed to look as far as her father, who was about as useless as his daughter in the mornings), and the sheets would always feel so warm and comfortable and she'd just want to snuggle into her bed and pretend the world didn't exist for five more minutes (which was one of the deadliest traps in the mornings, because it's never five more minutes).

Today though, sleep was unable to revisit her. A flash of white light rudely interrupted her slumber and Luka groaned in protest as she tried to bury her face into her pillow. Another flash. Luka blindly swiped at the direction of the flash and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head as she griped, "Go 'way!" and grumbled.

"Aww, I guess camera time is over."

"Yes, it is," Luka snapped sleepily. She settled once more into the covers, feeling so comfortable in her cocoon of warm sheets and-

Her eyes snapped open. Luka flung the covers off her body and shot into a position sitting up in bed so quickly that she almost headbutted the figure currently covered in her sheets.

"Ehe~ You're surprisingly cute in the mornings, senpai!" The unmistakable voice of Hatsune Miku preceded the figure pulling off the sheets to reveal the unmistakable grin of Hatsune Miku, her free hand holding a camera.

Paling, Luka pointed a trembling figure at her. "Y-You!"

"Me, indeed!" Miku said with a smile, tipping her head to the side cutely.

"Wh-What are you doing here? !" Luka screeched. "_How_ did you get in here? Are you some kind of burglar or something?"

"Burglar? Me? Oh, hell no!" the tealette laughed, waving a hand in front of herself. "I'm way too clumsy for something like that! Your mom let me in, actually."

"What!" Why would her mom have done that? Had she no idea that she had let a demon from hell into their home?

"Yup! It seemed like you have trouble in the mornings, so I thought I'd lend you a hand! And I also get to see you earlier in the day!" Miku chirped happily. "Two birds with one stone!"

Luka's eye twitched, a pained expression on her face that clearly asked "In thy infinite mercy, God, why me?"

"And actually," Miku said slowly as she placed a finger on her cheek in thought. "Your mom _really_ seemed to like the idea of me doing that, so maybe it's three birds with one stone? A good rapport with the parents is always healthy for a relationship..."

"Why...?" Luka groaned.

"Why? Well, apparently it reduces strain between the partner and the parents, so it reduces the amount of fighting that happens between-"

"That's not what I mean!" Luka shrieked. "I mean 'Why?' as in why are you doing this?"

Miku blinked at her before giggling girlishly. "Well, that's obvious, isn't it? It's because I like you, senpai! And because I like you, it also means that I care about your well-being, and I thought I should come by in the mornings to help you to that end!"

Panic had woken Luka's brain to the point that it was functioning at roughly eighty percent of its normal level of thought (far above normal for this hour), but the gears in her head ground to a screeching halt at the sound of one word. Her eye twitched.

"Mornings..." Annoyed, with a twinge of dread.

"Yes!" Cheerful.

"You... intend to come by... every morning." Dread, with a twinge of annoyance.

"Yes!" Cheerful.

"..." Despairing.

"By the way, senpai?" Slow, admiring, and dusted with the faintest hint of embarrassment.

"What?" Still despairing.

"I must say... I really like the view." Leering, with a grin far too akin to a perverted old man's.

Luka blinked. She lowered her gaze down at herself and gasped with horror. She would later blame panic and then far too much WTF for her brain to handle for why she didn't realize it earlier, but she had completely forgotten that, due to the hot weather lately, she had taken to going to bed in nothing more than a thin tank top and panties... And with the sheets pooled at the floor... Luka's face slowly went through every single shade of red that was humanly possible.

"Wow..." Miku breathed in awe, her gaze fixed a few inches below Luka's face. "Those really are natural, aren't they?"

Luka's expression of horror had not gone away, and she trembled as her hands clenched into fists on the bed, soft, incoherent noises forcing their way out of her mouth.

Three...

Two...

One...

* * *

><p>Downstairs, Luka's mother set out a cup of juice for their guest, placing it across from where her daughter usually sat at breakfast. It was always nice for any of Luka's friends to come over, and it had been a pleasant surprise for one to come over so early in the morning, especially if she was going to help Luka wake up. She needed to head to work now though, so she went to the base of stairs to call up to Luka and her friend. She opened her mouth to call up the stairs and-<p>

_**"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA! ! ! ! !"**_

Yukari fell back against the railing of the stairs from the ear-splitting shriek, which had all but blown the roof off of the house. In shock, she looked up again at the top of the stairs, where she could make out various projectiles flying out of her daughter's room.

_**"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT, YOU PERVERT, GET OUT! SICKO! PERVERT! BED INTRUDER! SEX OFFENDER! RAPIST! LOLICON! LEEK-EATER! PARAMECIUM!"**_

"Y'know, senpai, it's a shame you keep that covered up! Your figure is so- OW!"

Yukari winced at what sounded like a washpan slamming at high speed into someone's head.

_**"SHUT UP! GET OUT! SEX OFFENDER! DOUCHE! GO DIE! I REALLY WISH YOU'D GO DIE!"**_

Within seconds, the barrage of projectiles halted as a giggling teal-haired girl bounded down the stairs, though her head was sporting a large stinging red bump.

"Oh my, is everything alright?" Yukari asked curiously.

"Yup!" Miku chirped, unfazed by her injury. "It looks like senpai isn't very good with mornings at all!"

"No, she isn't," Yukari admitted. She smiled as she continued, "But I'm glad Luka-chan has such wonderful friends she can count on! I've never seen her so energetic in the mornings! Please take care of my daughter, okay, Miku-chan?"

Miku saluted energetically. "Roger that!"

* * *

><p>All eyes were on the school's Ice Princess as she trudged into class, her expression dark and promising agonizing torment should anyone even so much as jostle her.<p>

Meanwhile, a cheerful teal-haired girl waved happily from the doorway and called, "Bye, senpai! See you at lunch!" A dust cloud followed in her wake as she zoomed off, and everyone in the halls cleared the way for the one-girl stampede.

Luka seated herself at her desk, located in the back row and next to the window and right next to Lily's. Lily whistled, her eyes focused at the door that her friend had entered through.

"Damn... This is most certainly the first time I've seen you come in this early, hime-sama."

"Shut up," Luka growled in a low voice.

Even a rabid animal would have cowered at the sound of that baleful tone, but Lily either didn't notice or had decided to push her luck. "No, really. We'd all gotten used to your last minute royal entrances, so it's definitely a surprise. Not that it's a bad thing, y'know?"

"I said... shut up."

A rampaging horde of zombies would have decided to go find somewhere else to hang out if they'd heard that voice. But Lily just kept on trucking. She whipped out her notebook and her pen, already scribbling.

"Definitely a first. But will it be the last, I wonder? Perhaps... Perhaps not... Ooh, but I saw Miku-chan with you when you came in! Did she have anything to do with th-"

A very loud _thunk_ sounded through the room, and all chatter stopped as if turned off by a switch. All eyes turned to the two seats in the back nearest the window.

Megurine Luka was looking out the window, her chin propped up on one fist as she aimed her icy blue eyes out the window with a soft, dismissive "Hmph."

On the other hand, Lily was facedown on her desk, her hands twitching and choking out small noises of pain. A stinging red bump protruded from her head, which most certainly could not have been caused by anything unusual. Like, say, a very miffed pink-haired Ice Princess karate-chopping her.

"Sh... Shutting... Up..." she croaked.

* * *

><p>"So then Kaito told me there was no such thing as sake-flavored ice cream. It pissed me off, but then he said he'd make it just for me if I really wanted it!"<p>

Haku and Rin giggled at Meiko's story while Lily, now sporting a white cross-shaped bandage on her head from the earlier incident, grinned broadly.

"It's just like Kaito to say something like that!" she remarked.

"Yeah... He's a really sweet guy," Meiko admitted, trying to hide her light blush with a jaunty grin and hoping she didn't sound as dreamy as she thought. Beside her, Luka smiled as well.

"Kyaa~ Senpai's smiling face~~~" Snapshot.

"You guys have been together almost two years now, right?" Haku asked.

"Ehe... yeah..." Meiko admitted. "I'm just glad we got to stay together through high school... We're both such idiots though, so I guess we prolly could've gotten into the same schools anyway!"

The image on the camera's screen moved from Luka's face down over to her chest. "Ehehe..." Snapshot.

"Ne, ne, speaking of couples," Lily exclaimed, a feral grin gracing her features. "Haku-chan! Your anniversary's coming up too, ne?"

"Eh?" The shorthaired blonde girl sitting beside Haku asked excitedly, "You have a boyfriend too, Yowane-senpai?"

Haku flushed and began to fidget. "U-Um, w-w-well..."

Lily answered for her. "Yup! You wouldn't know it from looking at him, but Dell's a really sweet guy once you get to know him and change your name to Yowane Haku!"

"L-Lily...!" Haku protested weakly, flushed about as red as a tomato that had been dunked in red paint.

"Ahh, don't be so shy now, Haku-chan!" the blonde said, slapping her on the back with such enthusiasm that it nearly made the silver-haired girl fall off the bench, wincing in pain. "There's no shame in being with the one you like, ne?"

The camera lowered from Luka's chest down to her lap. The image adjusted until there was just the faintest image of pink cotton on the screen, directly up the pinkette's skirt. "Ehehe... Damn, that's hot..."

"I-It's just... It's s-still embarrassing..." Haku squeaked, chewing her lower lip.

"Ahh, you're so cute right now that I can't stand it! C'mere, you!" Lily proceeded to glomp Haku, who cried out in alarm.

"L-Lily!"

The image was still centered between the slender, shapely thighs and the navy-blue pleated skirt over them. Snapshot. Snapshot. Snapshot. Snapshot.

"Hatsune-san," a stern voice cut in.

The image moved up to focus on an irritated Luka staring directly at the camera. A vein had begun throbbing at her left temple as she put a great deal of effort into not throttling the owner of the camera on the spot. Miku looked up from her camera at the pinkette, grinning widely. The other girls eating in the courtyard looked at Miku with varying expressions. Haku looked worried, Meiko looked amused, Lily looked like she'd just scored a brand new scoop for her article, and Rin looked exasperated.

"Hatsune-san..." Luka ground out, smiling a very unfriendly and angry smile as she worked to keep herself under control. "Were you looking up my skirt while taking those pictures...?"

Miku blinked. "No, of course not," she said with a straight face. "I was um... admiring your skirt. Yeah."

"I see..."

Any idiot could have been able to tell that Miku was lying. Besides, her nose was bleeding.

Pursing her lips, Luka took her handkerchief out of her skirt pocket and gave it to Miku. "Wipe yourself off. Your nose is bleeding all over the place," she sighed. In all honesty, it wasn't the first time anyone had tried to catch a glimpse of her panties, but it was the first time anyone had done it so _blatantly._ Subtlety, it seemed, was not in Hatsune Miku's dictionary either.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she realized that Miku had held the pink handkerchief to her nose, and wasn't using it. Instead she... Luka's eye twitched as Miku took another deep inhale.

"Kyaa~~~ Senpai's scent~~~" she sighed dreamily. Looking up excitedly, eyes practically sparkling, she asked, "Ne, ne, senpai! Can I keep this? It would _totally_ not be for any dishonorable purposes whatsoev-"

_"Die."_

* * *

><p>Luka sighed as she sat down on the bench, taking a moment to cool off. She'd really worked up a sweat in tennis practice today, a fact that many of the other members of the girls' tennis club had noticed with trepidation. The boys' tennis club, which had been practicing nearby, had noticed too, and most everyone had decided it was best to tiptoe around the school's princess. She'd clearly had some steam to blow off today.<p>

For her part, Luka ignored their scrutiny as always, and nodded in response to some of the other members as they passed by, offering cautious smiles and equally cautious greetings of "Good work today!" She closed her eyes and relaxed, occasionally wiping away some of the insistent trickles of sweat that rolled down her forehead.

"Here you go!" a familiar, unwelcome voice chirped.

Luka opened her eyes, greeted by the sight of a fluffy white towel that had been shoved in her face. Facefaulting, she firmly pushed aside the towel to see the familiar, unwelcome million-watt smile of the familiar, unwelcome tealette offering it to her.

"Hatsune-san."

"Yup, that's me!" She began to dab the towel over Luka's forehead. "My, my, you sure worked up a sweat out there today, senpai! By the way, you ever thought about wearing some shorts underneath your tennis skirt? I mean, I don't mind the view, but..."

Miku trailed off, grinning suggestively. Luka scowled darkly up at her, muttering, "Pervert."

She smiled embarrassedly, scratching her cheek and blushing. "Aww, if you put it that way, senpai..."

"It's not a compliment!" Luka snapped irritably. No sooner had she done so than she deflated back onto the bench, sighing heavily. Oh, what was the use...? She raised her eyes up to meet the blue-green ones of her perverted stalker.

"I thought I'd come see you!" Miku explained, as though Luka had asked (which she hadn't and hadn't been planning on doing anyway). "Len-kun recently joined the tennis club, and Rin-chan likes to drop by cuz of that. So I figured that I would come on by too, since-"

"Since you like me," Luka droned drearily. "Yeah, I got that."

The size of Miku's subsequent grin could have torn a normal person's face apart, she thought unpleasantly. "Now you're getting it!" Miku chirped cheerily.

"And I suppose you'll want to go home together," Luka sighed sourly.

Miku's eyes had all but closed during her gigantic smile, but at this, they opened again, her smile fading into a cutely confused expression that only succeeded in making Luka's eye twitch.

"What ever do you mean, senpai?" Miku inquired innocently. "I distinctly remember you not wanting to go home with me, so-"

"Oh, shut up!" Luka spat scathingly. "It's quite obvious what you want, so you may as well wait here until I'm done changing!"

Miku's million-watt smile returned a few million watts brighter than before. "Oh, I knew you'd come around eventually, Luka-senpai! I'm just happy that it was so soon!"

Luka turned away with a grouchy, "Tch." Stomping off toward the girls' locker rooms, she growled without looking over her shoulder, "Peek and it'll be the last thing you see."

Miku enthusiastically saluted her senpai's back, chirping, "Roger that!"

_I just don't get what's wrong with that girl..._ the pinkette thought with a sigh. And it didn't seem there was going to be an end in sight to their association.

Joy.

* * *

><p>End Chapter 1<p>

* * *

><p>I don't know why it is so fun writing an aggressive, perverted Miku, it just is! XD Hope you guys enjoy, and I expect chapter 2 will be ready next week-ish. If you made it this far, please leave a review and let me know what you think! 'Til next time! ^_^<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, I am honestly floored by all the reviews! You guys rock! I'm really glad you guys liked the first chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy this one as well!

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own any- Oh c'mon, do I really need to do this? x_x

* * *

><p>Chapter 2<p>

* * *

><p>She had hoped. Earnestly hoped. She had hoped that maybe whatever the school used to print its newspapers would catch fire or run out of ink. She had hoped that maybe some other awful fate would befall the papers the newspaper was printed on. She had hoped that something would cause Lily's article to not be printed.<p>

Above all, she had hoped that she was wrong about the contents of Lily's article.

"Th-That poor girl..." a student she passed in the halls that morning sniffled as her friend reading the school newspaper over her shoulder also sniffled and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.

"She was so brave...!" another boy in the halls blubbered, burying his eyes into his sleeve and sobbing.

Another had sighed dreamily after finishing the article. "I wonder if I'll ever be brave enough to confess to Luka-hime-sama too...?"

Clearly, she had been wrong to hope.

Today was the day the newest issue of the school newspaper had been printed, much to Luka's dismay. More importantly, today was the day that Lily's newest article had come out, an eagerly anticipated column throughout the school for everyone except the pink-haired girl who had starred in every single damn one of them. From what she could gather, it was yet another drama and emotion-packed episode in the ongoing quest of Luka's admirers to confess to her and win her heart. And, judging from how many had been moved to tears by it, it looked like Lily had published yet another hit.

_How wonderful for her!_ Luka thought acidly as she stepped into her classroom.

And Luka supposed that, as her friend and the star of Lily's highly successful articles, it was only fair that she be the first one to grant the blonde the first accolade. A golden opportunity presented itself as she caught sight of the open newspaper in the seat beside her assigned one, no doubt concealing Lily grinning from ear to ear and mentally patting herself on the back for her brilliant writing. And such success deserved to be rewarded!

And so, with that thought in mind, the Ice Princess stomped forward, snatched the newspaper from Lily's hand, rolled it up, and then viciously smacked her over the head with it.

* * *

><p>It was practically tradition for the Ice Princess to make herself scarce the day a new article by Masuda Lily came out. Her popularity as it already stood was bad enough; on the days after a new issue, the gossip would fly like nobody's business. There would be nearly no escape from it, seeing how <em>everyone<em> at school would be talking about the damn thing (apparently, though the faculty officially denied it, Lily's articles were popular reading in the teachers' lounge as well).

In the name of avoiding the talk as best as they could, Luka and her friends would eat on the rooftop on those days, and today was no exception. Lily would join too, partly because she too was one of Luka's friends (even if she would be temporarily out of the princess's good graces at the time), but mostly because she loved doing her dramatic narration for the rest of their friends. The only one who didn't delight in this at all was Luka herself, but she would tolerate it. After all, there wasn't much choice. So as usual, she was eating her lunch while the others sat and listened to Lily's tale. Ordinarily, Luka would sigh and roll her eyes at the over-sensationalized story of the day, and today was no different really.

Lily was in the middle of energetically reading to her audience, conveying for them the tale of the nervous first year who had fallen at first sight for Yamaha High's own Ice Princess, her emotions steadily building up as she would feel flustered in the princess's icy presence until she could take it no longer. Feeling she must confess her love lest the flames of her passion consume her from the inside out, and summoning up every last remnant of her courage, the first year asked the school's princess to meet her, so that she could confess her undying love. But despite her best efforts, despite all the courage she'd needed to muster up until that fateful moment, despite the intensity of the fire of love in her heart, despite her hope against all hope to thaw the frost that encased the Ice Princess's heart, her ice-cold senpai had been unmoved by her ardent confession. Like all of the other boys and girls who had come before her, and had dared as she dared, the girl had been coldly rejected and left behind in the classroom to tearfully nurse her broken heart alone. Dejected and saddened, the girl nevertheless resolved to hold to her devotion and remain a part of the Ice Princess's fan club, continuing to love her from afar.

Again, Luka wondered how Lily's article maintained its stranglehold of popularity despite spouting almost the _exact_ same melodramatic crap every freaking time.

The article had been injected with generous helpings of drama and emotion, the end predictably full of tears and a broken heart's resolve to continue to love the Ice Princess even if she could never have her (gag), and the whole nine yards. However, today's reading was different from the previous ones.

At the end of Lily's reading, as all of their other friends cheered and applauded (partly because they liked it too and partly because it was actually pretty fun to annoy Luka every so often), Luka sipped at her juice carton before deciding to speak up.

"Lily." It took some effort to keep her tone mild.

"Yes, your majesty?" came the cheeky reply.

Eye twitch. "At the end of your story, after the... 'princess' (Luka spat the word as if it were a vile taste in her mouth)... turns down her suitor, the girl resolves to continue to love her from afar... right?"

Lily nodded. "Yup!"

Another eye twitch. "Then, Lily... please... enlighten me..."

"Hm?"

From beside Luka, a teal-haired girl sniffled, visibly moved by the story. "That was beautiful!"

Bolting into a standing position, Luka aimed an accusing finger down at the girl as she raged, _**"JUST WHAT PART OF THIS EXACTLY IS LOVING FROM AFAR? ! ? !"**_

All eyes turned to the figure of Hatsune Miku sniffling beside her, dabbing her eyes with the pink handkerchief Luka had ended up letting her keep after all (she couldn't bear the thought of using it again after how it had been _defiled_ by the younger girl's perverted fantasies...), Lily looked at her for a while before returning her gaze to Luka, grinning.

"What's the problem? Everyone knows that I like have to some fun with our lovely hime-sama's adventures, so a few inaccuracies are bound to pop up, ne?"

Luka's rage vanished instantly into a smile, a truly radiant and wondrous smile of breathtaking beauty in and of itself. She laughed, the sound reminiscent of softly ringing bells, and said, "Ahh, I see! So that's how it is!"

Lily joined in with her laughter, the sound harmonizing beautifully with her friend's. "Yup, yup! And besides, what's a good story without-"

_SMACK!_

The next sound following this was Lily's body thumping uselessly against the ground, having been knocked senseless courtesy of a juice box slamming at high speed right between her eyes.

* * *

><p>As soon as Luka returned home, she trudged to her room and flopped facedown on her bed. What a week... Ever since Hatsune Miku's confession to her, she'd been dealing with her every day.<p>

Every day.

_Every_ day.

Every. Day.

She could hardly believe that it had only been a few days since she'd received that confession. She'd had to endure Hatsune Miku's nigh omnipresence, from when she woke up to pretty much the moment she walked into her front door... And of course, the annoying pest would have to yell from across the street, "Bye, senpai! See you tomorrow!"

Humans were good at adapting though, so the neighbors quickly grew used to it.

She sighed. Thank God it was the weekend now... Luka wearily pushed herself up into a standing position, stripping off her uniform and tossing it onto her bed before picking out a change of clothes. She supposed she should check first to see if there was anything to make for dinner, so that way she would know whether or not she needed to do some grocery shopping. To that end, she finished changing and began to head down the stairs.

Starting from when she was still young, Luka had learned to fend for herself, her skill at this improving with age. It was necessary for her, as her parents were both busy with their careers and oftentimes would not be home until very late, or if at all. Her father usually was out on business trips, like he was now, and it was only good fortune that Luka's mother was able to be home long enough to fix her daughter's breakfast on the weekdays before she needed to run out the door.

So, Luka thought sourly, it was actually good for her that Hatsune Miku had decided to barge into her daughter's life. At least _someone_ was happy about that...

A quick peek inside of the fridge confirmed that there was enough food for Luka to make a meal with, so dinner was off the list of worries. She took the opportunity to lie down on the couch with a sigh. Her homework was already mostly done; she'd been determined to ignore people during their free study period today and had wrathfully busied herself with various equations and problems (most people knew better than to bother the Ice Princess when her aura turned deathly cold, which it usually did following a new issue's release). Lily had also been nursing her wounds at the time and had wisely decided to be silent and leave her alone.

What to do?

It was a question that was familiar to her whenever the weekend came about, even when she was just a kid. Her thoughts drifted back to those days, remembering herself as a skinny, awkward, and devastatingly shy child. It had not been particularly easy; she'd never admit to it out loud, but she'd been very lonely back then. Luka closed her eyes, a wry smile tugging at a corner of her mouth. Unlike most children, she'd never gotten much of a chance to spend time with her parents. She hadn't been one of those children who got to go out on trips with her family, or even spend time at a park together or anything; the Megurine parents were simply too busy for that.

But even if her parents were busy, she knew they loved her, and Luka supposed that was more important than anything else.

She shook her head, wiping off the expression of mild melancholy that had overtaken her features. Luka hopped to her feet, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she walked over to her piano. She slid into her seat with an ease borne of long familiarity. Her fingers automatically positioned themselves over the keys, her fingertips gently touching them before she began to play.

It was a passion of hers that she kept quiet, but Luka enjoyed music. Certainly, other kids her age loved listening to music, but she also enjoyed making it, whether she was playing on her piano or singing. Her fingers began to play seemingly of their own volition, agilely flowing over the ivory and ebony keys as her eyes closed, letting the music play her almost as much as she was playing it. She had always loved music, whether she was doing it as a source of comfort, or just when she felt like it. She'd indulged in music ever since she was young, at first just singing, and then learning how to play the piano when her parents had purchased it for her, one of their many gifts to her as a sort of apology for not being able to spend time with their daughter.

The melody that issued forth from the piano filled the room and she felt herself beginning to unconsciously sway in time with the flow as her concentration intensified. She'd been told many times she had a talent for music, but Luka had no intentions of ever making a career out of it. It was her personal joy, and she only shared her love for music with those close to her. Her friends knew how well she sang, since they would all go out to karaoke every so often, and they were all close enough to her that she didn't mind sharing it with them. She'd played once or twice for her parents; she'd only played so few times because of how scarcely they were home when she was playing.

But ah well... She supposed that was life.

A dinging sound interrupted Luka in the middle of her piece, startling her out of her trance. She looked up, puzzled. That was... the doorbell, wasn't it? Had it been her imagination? It could have been... it wasn't particularly late, but who would possibly come calling at this hour? The sound rang again, apparently proving that theory wrong before it even got off the ground. Curious, she walked to the door and opened it.

"Hi, senpai!" the broadly smiling tealette at the door greeted her.

Luka stared blankly at her.

Unfazed by the lack of reaction, Miku continued, "I came to hang out! You free today? I got nothing to do, and since it's the weekend and we've got no school tomorrow, I thought maybe we could do something together! Y'know, just the two of us! I mean, we live right across the street from each other and all anyways, right? So whaddya say?"

Luka continued to stare blankly at her.

Miku's grin remained.

The door slammed in her face.

"Uuu, c'mon, senpai! Don't be like that!" Miku's muffled voice whined through the door.

Luka sighed and walked away. Idly, she wondered if her parents would allow her to move into her own apartment...

"Ne, senpai~!" the whining continued. "Ne~~~!"

Actually, first, maybe she should call the cops and say there was a suspicious person outside of her house...

* * *

><p>This was the way to wake up, Luka decided: warm, cozy, and late in the morning. If there was one thing Luka always took advantage of on the weekends, it was being able to sleep in and get up as late as she pleased. Of course, she wouldn't sleep a whole day away; that was just irresponsible in her book. It was just that school always started about five hours before she was really ready to leave her bed... and then lately there had always been a camera shoved in her face while she was sleeping defenselessly. She forcibly shoved that dark thought from her head, looking forward to her Saturday. No school, no homework (she'd finished it off last night), no confessions, no nothing! Seeing how she was going to likely just laze the day away at home and blast some zombies, or maybe go online and thrash some people, she decided that the tank top she had on right now was fine, and slipped on a pair of teal shorts. She padded her way downstairs, smelling breakfast (Or was it late enough to be brunch? She decided not to think too hard about it.).<p>

As she walked into the dining room, she noticed her mother standing at the kitchen stove. "Good morning," Luka greeted.

Yukari looked over her shoulder. Seeing her daughter, she smiled warmly. "Good morning, Luka-chan!"

The teal-haired girl already seated at the table smiled cheerfully at her after swallowing down a mouthful of food. "Good morning, senpai!"

"Un, good morning," Luka greeted absently. She sat at the table, rubbing her eyes; sleep had a tendency to hang on long after one had gotten out of bed. "No work today?" she asked her mother.

Yukari set out a plate of food in front of her, replying, "I have to leave in a bit; I told them I'd be coming in late today and stay later."

"Ah." Luka worked out the kinks in her neck, a yawn forcing its way out of her.

"Yukari-san, may I have seconds please?"

"Sure thing!"

"Yay!"

"Itadakimasu." Luka began to dig into her food. It was a Western-style breakfast today, with eggs, bacon, and toast. A cup of juice was set down near her utensils. She started with a bite of her eggs; her mom was clumsy with cracking eggs so it was scrambled as usual.

"Mm, this is really good, Yukari-san!"

"I'm glad you like it!"

It was so strange hearing conversation at breakfast, Luka thought. On the weekends, it would usually just be her eating alone. Sometimes during the weekdays, it would be like that as well, and every so often, she would be eating with her father (in contrast to her husband and her daughter, Megurine Yukari was actually a morning person). So strange indeed, she thought, shoving a strip of bacon into her mouth. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, really. And the voice was so very... familiar...

...

Her sleep-clouded head took its sweet time putting two and two together...

...

Luka bolted from her seat, turning a wild-eyed look onto the tealette as she pointed down at her with her fork (a few bacon crumbs still dangling between the prongs). "Y-Y-YOU!" she shouted at the astonished girl.

"Me?" Miku asked with a confused blink.

"Y-You...! What...! H-Hatsune-san, I...! I...!" Luka struggled to get a coherent sentence out, her brain going into red alert as it protested against the gargantuan load of WTF that demanded to be processed. Giving up, she whirled towards her mother and shouted, "Kaa-san! What the _hell_ is _she_ doing here?" Her fork pointed waveringly at the tealette.

"Eating breakfast," Miku and Yukari replied in unison, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"BUT _WHY_ IS SHE _HERE?_" Luka's voice cracked with something close to, but not quite, hysteria.

"I/She came to see you," they replied in unison.

Her eye twitched. _"WHY ARE YOU TWO RESPONDING IN UNISON? !"_

"It just ended up that way," they replied in unison.

"_**STOP DOING THAT! ! ! !"**_

"We don't mean to do this," they replied in unison.

Luka's eye ticked furiously. Whirling onto her unwelcome guest, she screeched, "AND _YOU!_ EAT BREAKFAST AT YOUR OWN HOUSE!"

"But your mom makes such good food, I couldn't resist!" Miku chirped happily.

Luka extended her hands toward her, her left eye still ticking. It was hard to say whether she was doing it to beg for something (perhaps her immediate departure), doing it in hopes of strangling her despite the distance that still separated them, or doing it out of sheer frustration. It was apparent that even Luka herself wasn't sure, so she let her hands dangle at her sides after a defeated sigh. Frankly, it was far too early for this. Hanging her head, she sat down at the table with another sigh.

"Oh, forget it... Do what you want..."

"Will do, senpai!" Miku saluted with her fork before she went back to scarfing down her food.

Luka shook her head as she went back to her breakfast, wondering if there might still be some aspirin left. As she chewed on a bite of toast, she could only wonder what deity she had pissed off to deserve being plagued by Hatsune Miku's presence even on weekends, and exactly how many virgins she would have to sacrifice in order to appease said deity. She swallowed and reached for her cup of juice when she took notice of Miku gazing at her. Miku had finished her food, but still looked quite hungry, her eyes definitely locked onto... A sinking feeling started in Luka's stomach as she followed the direction of the tealette's gaze... and remembered that her tank top was a bit low cut...

Her eye twitched as a perverted "Ehehe..." fell out of the brat's grinning mouth, accompanied by a slight trickle of blood from her nose...

"AGH!"

Yukari turned around in alarm to see Miku hunched over the table, apparently in a lot of pain, while her daughter got up calmly. "Is everything alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes, kaa-san," Luka replied, as if nothing unusual had happened. "Hatsune-san just banged her leg on a corner of the table." She flipped her hair over her shoulder nonchalantly before heading upstairs to pick out a shirt to wear.

"Oh my... Please be more careful, Miku-chan."

"R-Roger... that..." Miku managed to squeak through teeth clenched in pain.

_Such a brutal snap kick..._ she thought, still filled with admiration even in the midst of agony. _As expected of Luka-senpai..._

"Ow... My poor shin... Damn, this hurts..."

* * *

><p>"..." Luka stared at her mother blankly.<p>

Yukari stared at her daughter with a smile.

"I'm sorry," Luka said. "I could have sworn you just said that you want Hatsune-san to hang out here."

"Well, why not?" Yukari asked, her voice matching her sweet smile. "You'll be home alone, and Miku-chan says-"

"Why do you keep calling her 'Miku-chan'?" Luka demanded, her voice shrill with something close to, but not quite, hysteria.

"Why not?" Yukari seemed genuinely confused. "She's Miku-chan, so it's fine to call her Miku-chan, isn't it?"

Luka resisted the urge to facepalm (and she noticed she'd been doing that a lot lately). Taking this as an invitation to continue (even though it wasn't), her mother continued.

"You'll both be at home alone, so why not spend it with a friend? Ne?"

Luka opened her mouth to screech loudly that the twintailed terror perched innocently on their sofa was hardly her "friend", but thought better of it and instead deflated with a sigh. This, she could tell, was a losing battle.

She seemed to be fighting a lot of those lately...

"Sure... why not..." she sighed.

Yukari smiled at her daughter, her head tipping to the side as she did. "Good! I'll see you when I get home from work, sweetie!"

"Yeah... see ya," Luka returned glumly.

* * *

><p>Luka stared at her nemesis, scowling and her arms folded over her chest.<p>

Said nemesis stared back, grinning broadly with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Y'know, senpai, you're really cute when you're annoyed!"

Luka facefaulted. She broke the stare, shaking her head. Well, as long as the pest was over, she might as well make an attempt to be a decent host... she guessed. Sighing, she asked, "So what do you want to do?"

"Oh, anything's fine, senpai. I'm just happy being with you, that's all!"

Luka sighed. What the hell kind of cheesy statement was that...? _Oh, whatever..._

Eventually, she decided to just play a video game. Miku seemed content with just sitting beside her and watching, though Luka kept an eye on her. It was a bit strange though. In a situation like this and given how perverted the girl had already proven herself to be, Miku did not attempt to do anything. She looked quite happy just sitting beside her, even though they weren't even touching or anything. How strange... Luka doubted many of her admirers would have been able to remain still in such a situation.

...Well, maybe they would have, but it would probably have been fear of her vengeance that would have kept them still.

Such a strange girl... She was definitely different from her other admirers. All her other admirers looked at her either like she was some sort of object or some damn goddess. Miku... well, she definitely didn't treat her like she was untouchable, but she seemed to respect her without needing to worship the ground she walked on... kind of like how her friends treated her.

...Then again, the girl had far too much interest in staring up her skirt or staring at her chest...

Luka shoved the thoughts from her head. She really didn't know anymore. At the very least, she could see that Hatsune Miku wasn't _all_ bad. So she wasn't _entirely_ annoying.

Just mostly.

Deciding to put in a different game, Luka crawled on all fours up to her PS3 and removed the disc. She replaced it into its appropriate case and began to rummage through her available games. Definitely no survival horror right now though... she didn't like playing those in front of other people since she actually would get scared... maybe a shooter? Bah, but she played so many shooters as it was... Ultimately, Luka just decided on playing a shooter anyway.

She scooted back to where she'd been sitting at the foot of the couch, but noted the dreamy look in Miku's eyes, along with her perverted grin and slight trickle of drool out the corner of her mouth. What a weirdo... what could possibly have made... her...

She facefaulted, having a strong suspicion of what had triggered this, given her compromising position up at the console... To confirm this, Miku unwisely spoke up.

"Senpai, has anyone ever told you how nice and round your ass is? Ehehe... and when you crawl like that, it just sways so-"

_WHACK!_

"Uuu..." Miku nursed the large bump on her head, placed there courtesy of Luka's iron fist, whilst crying anime river tears.

Judging from Luka's "Hmph", her senpai was highly unsympathetic.

* * *

><p>Aside from a few scattered incidents with Miku raping Luka with her eyes, the day passed rather normally. It was almost like hanging out with one of her friends, actually. She didn't even mind very much when Miku had waved at her as she left at the end of the day, cheerfully calling, "Bye, senpai! See you tomorrow!" Sure, that would mean her Sunday would have Hatsune Miku intruding on her again but... maybe it wouldn't be so bad. After all, Luka had decided to grudgingly admit to herself that maybe, just maybe, being Hatsune Miku's friend might not be so horrible.<p>

It was due to this thought that, when the tealette showed up at her house the next morning, Luka was willing to let her in without much fuss.

"Well, you let me in really quick today, senpai!" Miku remarked happily. Checking her watch, she said, "Un, way quicker than I thought! Fifty-eight minutes and twenty-three seconds faster than expected, to be exact!"

Luka rolled her eyes as she closed the door behind her guest, who continued with a sunny smile, "Perhaps there's a chance for me after all?"

"Don't count on it." While that statement ordinarily would have been delivered with a generous helping of ice and venom, Luka's tone was much lighter than either had expected.

_Stupid girl._

At the time that unkind thought had passed through Luka's head, Miku was staring wide-eyed at her senpai's mouth. It was ever so faint but... Luka was... smiling! Still muted by her amazement, she whipped out her camera and took a picture. Hearing the unmistakable snapshot, Luka looked down at her with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity, mostly curiosity.

"Senpai, you smiled! It's so rare to see you smile! I mean, yeah, it was faint, but it was so pretty!" Miku gushed, all but tripping over her words as she babbled energetically. "Ne, ne! Do it again, senpai! Do it again!"

Before she had even gotten halfway through, the pinkette's expression had morphed from surprise at Miku's sudden gushing to a baleful scowl. She looked away and continued her march to the living room, all the while enduring Miku's chatter.

"Aw, c'mon, senpai! You look so much prettier when you smile! C'mon, smile!"

"I'm not gonna smile!" Luka snarled.

"Aww, don't be so stingy~!" Miku wheedled.

"I'm _definitely_ not gonna smile!"

"You don't have to be so definite about it!" the tealette whined.

* * *

><p>"You've gotten pretty cozy with Miku-chan, haven't you?"<p>

Luka looked at Lily out of the corner of her eyes. The excitement that gleamed in those blue eyes was practically a warning beacon, the blonde's smile stretching from ear to ear. The pinkette sighed softly, cursing the fact that it was a free study period for them (which everyone knew was basically just a fancy term for students sitting around and goofing off). If a teacher had been here, she would have been able to get away with brushing Lily off, but at this moment, she was especially vulnerable. Still, she had to try to stave her off (half-heartedly though, she knew when she was cornered).

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her eyes returning to her homework.

"Oh, I think you know _exactly _what I'm talking about, your majesty." The sly grin and oily voice told Luka that she was cornered.

Luka sighed quietly. She'd heard of the "dumb blonde" stereotype before, and could only conclude that whoever had thought up that stereotype had never met Masuda Lily before. Certainly her grades were not the best, but Luka knew this was more from laziness than anything else. As Lily had airily explained once, "I find my life is a lot easier the lower I keep everyone's expectations." And, she was perceptive as all hell, damn her.

Glancing over at Lily, she answered, "I decided that it wouldn't offend me to be her friend."

"Oh?" Luka blinked at how quickly the notebook and pen were out and ready to write. She hadn't been aware any human being could move so quickly... "Do tell, do tell!" Lily was practically drooling all over herself, her nosiness rolling off of her in _waves_.

Luka facefaulted. "There's really nothing to tell though. Hatsune-san and I live across the street from each other, so she's been using that as an excuse to barge into my house every morning, weekday or not. And walk to and from school with me, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, we know that part, Luka," Lily said impatiently. (The fact that Luka had raised an eyebrow suspiciously and asked, "'We'?" went completely ignored.) "But see, before, you used to get all annoyed about it! And now, you actually don't seem to mind her company!"

"I don't mind your company either, but that doesn't mean anything," Luka retorted.

"Yes, but the difference is that I don't have a crush on you! Although..." Lily pitched her voice to be playfully seductive now. "If you ever wanna give me a whirl, you know where to find m- ah! Ah!" Luka's fist had begun to grind into Lily's cheek in a most uncomfortable manner. "Ow, ow! Give, Luka-hime! Give!"

The Ice Princess pulled her fist back, picking up her pencil with a dismissive "Hmph" and returning to her studies while her friend rubbed her jaw. "Gah... did you really have to do it that hard?" Lily complained.

"You brought that on yourself with your own foolishness," Luka replied nonchalantly, not even looking at her.

"I know you're trying to dodge me, by the way."

Luka idly wondered if she could knock the questions out of Lily by hitting her in the head hard enough. Probably not, that would be far too easy. It would be worth a try, perhaps... But that would have to wait for some other time, especially considering that Lily was staring at her in a way that definitely screamed, "Tell me more! Tell me more!"

"No, but really now, Luka. You don't mind her nearly as much as you used to."

The pinkette shrugged. "I got to know her. You were right; she's a pretty good kid. Besides, my mom's taken a liking to her."

"Oh, has she now?" The gears could almost audibly be heard churning in what passed for Lily's brain. "Well, that's great! It's always great for the partner and the parents to get along! It reduces strain between the partner and the parents and-"

Luka facepalmed. "Don't. Just... don't. Hatsune-san said the _exact_ same thing."

"Aha, so our courageous and indomitable young heroine still clings to hope! What a wonderful story this is turning out to be!" Scribble, scribble, scribble.

Personally, Luka thought this story sucked, but she just knew that if Lily could spin it into another tale for the school newspaper, the school would hardly agree with her... Great.

The bell rang, and Luka was spared further questions, as Lily had to use the little nosy journalist's room real quick before the next class started. Nodding to her friend as she took her leave, Luka rested her chin on her fist and she looked out the window absently. It had been a little over two weeks since Hatsune Miku had confessed her feelings to her. During the entire span of that period, she'd been subjected to Miku's company over and over again. In the mornings when she woke up, there she was. When she walked to school, the tealette would be attached to her hip. At lunchtime, she would come running to her side, running over any foolish enough to stand in her way (the nurse's office had lately needed to treat a lot more people who had been hit by something moving at high speed). If she had tennis practice, Luka would have to play with a camera flashing repeatedly behind the fence (to her dismay, since that meant that even if she hit a ball in her direction, it would do absolutely nothing but ruin one snapshot). When they walked home, there she would be again. And the weekends were absolutely no reprieve from her.

But while annoying, it had ceased to be unbearable. Humans, Luka reasoned, were skilled adapters, and she had simply come to adapt to the omnipresence of Hatsune Miku in her life. While annoying and troublesome, Luka had come to see she wasn't _all _bad. She was much too enthusiastic and energetic, and she still had no concept of shame or modesty, and she was an incorrigible pervert, but she still had her good points. She could do worse for a friend, she knew. It wasn't like she was much different from Gakupo's younger sister Gumi, who had a tendency to absolutely barrel most people over with her own boundless energy... and pervertedness...

...

...Luka suddenly wondered what the world would be like if those two ever met.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a classroom a grade lower that was enjoying a free study period of its own...<p>

"So!" a green-haired girl who had just transferred into the class said as she helped herself to a seat beside a certain teal-haired girl. "You're Hatsune Miku-chan, ne? I heard about you from my brother, Gakupo-nii-chan!"

"Yup, that's me! And you are?"

"I'm Kamui Gumi! Pleased to meetcha!"

"Likewise! I hope we can be good friends! Can I call you Gumi-chan?"

"Sure! Can I call you Miku-chan then?"

"Sure!"

The two shook hands vigorously, each beaming at the other in a genuinely cheerful manner.

At the exact moment that their hands touched, a church bell began to toll ominously in the distance.

* * *

><p>"Y'know, this stuff's a lot easier than I thought!" Miku chirped, polishing off her English homework. "Thanks for all your help, senpai!"<p>

Luka hummed out an absent response, working on her own homework. She and Miku had made it a regular occurrence to do their homework at Luka's house. They'd been spending a lot of time together anyway, and Miku had lately taken to inviting herself over to her senpai's house, something that was greeted with far less annoyance than one would have originally thought. Well, at first, it was greeted with all the enthusiasm of walking the plank in front of a hundred jeering, drunken pirates, but Luka had gotten used to it. It was another one of those losing battles anyway, so she figured the less fuss she put up, the lower her chance of giving herself gray hairs before her time.

Usually, they would do their homework, and then Miku would fix up some dinner for them. "It's the least I can do!" she'd said.

This wasn't anything she could fight either. Luka had learned by now that Hatsune Miku was a force of nature. She would have had a better fighting chance at stopping waves by throwing rocks at the ocean and screaming at the water to stop crashing on the beach than she had of stopping Hatsune Miku when her mind was set on something. It was easier to just let her do as she pleased than try to impede her in any way.

The way Luka became Miku's English tutor had been entirely by chance. It had coincidentally been a day that Miku had gotten one of her English essays back. While flipping through her book bag, she hadn't been able to find a textbook that she was looking for, so Miku had turned her bag upside down and rummaged through the mess. Following an exasperated sigh, Luka had caught notice of Miku's paper and in a rare moment of nosiness (she blamed Lily for rubbing off on her) picked it up.

* * *

><p><strong>Two weeks ago...<strong>

"...Hatsune-san."

"Hm?"

"Is..." Luka's eye twitched as she held up the paper in her hand. "Is this your essay?"

A massive sweatdrop rolled down the side of Miku's head, her expression suddenly looking extremely embarrassed. "Uhhhhhhhh... Maybe?"

Luka flipped through it, clearly unimpressed.

"Hatsune-san... This... This is..."

"It's...?" Miku squeaked.

"This is pathetic."

"Ehehe..." Miku scratched her cheek in an embarrassed fashion. "Sowwy..."

"This is not something you can dismiss with just an 'Ehehe'!" Luka snapped. She looked through it again with undisguised distaste. "This... This is terrible! Awful!"

"You don't have to be so mean..." Miku pouted.

The pinkette sighed, tossing the essay with disgust on the table they were sitting at. "I... simply cannot let this stand. I'll tutor you."

"Eh?"

"I'm frankly surprised your teacher hasn't given up and just failed you. There might still some hope left for you, so I'll tutor you."

"You will? Really?"

Luka didn't like how sparkly Miku's eyes became all of a sudden. A chill danced up her spine as the tealette leaned forward, and if she wasn't mistaken, the girl's pupils had turned into hearts. "Then... can I call you 'Luka-sensei'?" Her voice was pitched in a _clearly_ turned on rasp. "And will you dress up like a sexy teacher too...? Oh, please tell me you will!"

Her drool was nearly overflowing by this point... A vein began to throb on Luka's temple...

"Ooh! And don't forget to wear stockings! Yes! You absolutely _have_ to wear stockings! And they have to be black!"

By now, her drool really _was_ overflowing, Luka noted with disgust. And her nose was bleeding profusely too! Luka lowered her head, trembling with barely repressed violence...

"And... And...! Oh God, and black lace panties! A sexy teacher absolutely _must_ have black lace panties! Those are my favorites! And-"

She could take no more. "You... You... _You god damn PERVERT!_"

In the next instant, Miku was on the ground, caught in a cross-armlock courtesy of her wrathful senpai, who roared, "I'll knock those disgusting thoughts out of that empty head of yours!"

"Oh my _**GOD!**_ Luka-sensei's loving punishment!" Miku cried out, in an ecstatic and _very_ disturbing mixture of pleasure and pain. "Oh my God, _**YES!**_ Punish me, sensei! More! Oh, please punish me more, sensei!"

**_"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP, YOU TWISTED LITTLE CREATURE! DIE! DIE! DIE AT ONCE! DIE!"_**

* * *

><p><strong>Present...<strong>

...At any rate, Luka had been highly successful as Miku's tutor. Miku's English teacher, who had long since given up on her, was astonished by her dramatic improvement, and the tealette herself was happy because for once, she was actually not doing horribly in English, which had apparently long been one of her weakest subjects. Her confidence in the subject had increased a hundredfold, and even when she reviewed by herself, she could actually get things right. It was likely this confidence that led to her proposal.

After finishing their homework, the girls would then eat dinner, wash the dishes, and then hang out until Miku went home. Tonight was no different, as they both sat on the sofa and watched television. Even the silence wasn't anything different, for Luka had learned that, though Hatsune Miku was often a chatterbox and liked to talk (and talk... and talk... and talk... and _talk_...), she also enjoyed a comfortable silence, and Luka had learned to appreciate those silences. However, it was when Miku broke the silence this time that things became a bit different.

"Ne, senpai?"

"Hm?" Luka replied absently.

"I have an English test coming up this Thursday. We'll know what we got on it on Friday."

"Mm," Luka answered noncommittally.

"Senpai... if I get a 100 on my next test, will you give me a reward?"

So this is what it was leading up to. "Sure, why not?" she replied, her tone just as bored as before. "What do you want?"

"I want you to go on a date with me this Saturday."

Luka's idle movements stilled. Slowly, she turned towards the tealette on the sofa, who gazed back at her with a smile. Ice-blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Confident, aren't you?"

"Not really. But a reward to work for might spur my efforts a bit~!"

Luka continued to glare at her. Pursing her lips, she finally said, "Fine. But on one condition."

"Hm?" Miku's head tipped to the side.

"Don't call it a date."

Her response was a cheerful grin. "Done."

Luka turned away, shaking her head. _Really..._ she thought. _She's such a kid._

* * *

><p>Later that night, after Miku had gone home with a determined gleam in her eyes and a "I'll <em>definitely<em> ace that test, senpai!", Luka washed up, changed into her sleepwear and then laid down on in her bed. She thought back to her promise for a reward if the tealette indeed got a 100. Miku really had improved in English, so the possibility of being dragged along to hang out with her was a very real possibility. She sighed, shrugging mentally. Well, what of it? She'd hung out with Lily and her other friends before too, sometimes alone with just one of them. It wouldn't be much different. Nope, it wouldn't be much different at all.

...Except none of her friends had crushes on her.

Luka blinked, and her eyes slowly began to widen with dawning realization. She began to have mental images of being dragged all around town with Miku clinging to her arm, trying to pull her into dark alleys or photo booths and groping her at every possible opportunity, and whenever those opportunities were unavailable, she would doubtless burn holes through her clothes with her eyes, ravaging her defenseless body through sight alone... She imagined entire trails of bloodied tissues being left behind in their wake, alongside with puddles of Miku-drool... She stared up at the ceiling, her already pale skin white as a sheet and her expression suggesting horrific trauma.

Oh God.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

* * *

><p>End Chapter 2<p>

* * *

><p>Hope no one feels this was significantly weaker than the previous one. XD; Pacing might feel a little fast, but I think that might be cuz this was originally an (hideously) oversized one shot at first. XP<p>

A Few Review Responses

IdrewAcow: Thanks for the tip, I think that's always been my biggest flaw when writing multi-chapter fics. XD Here's hoping I can finish this!

Lovecakes98: Admittedly, I did draw on Sakuya from Candy Boy as one of my influences for writing Miku. XD That girl was just awesome!

LukaFan: I'm glad you like my stories, and I'm glad you review them too! ^_^ Miku's million-watt smile could probably power a city and then some. XD As for Gumi, I don't actually have her part to play quite down yet, but we'll see how it goes. One day, I need to write a story for that girl. XD

Freyia: I hope she stays sane too, it'd be a shame for poor Miku to go through all that work and have a girlfriend who isn't there mentally. XP

Artemis: A special thanks to you, because I'd never seen that anime but after I saw Kuroko I was like "...Holy crap." She was fantastic for another Miku influence! XDD

Ocean Prince: That was actually my favorite part too, I made myself laugh just visualizing that scene. XD I'm glad you liked how I wrote Miku, but don't break your poor keyboard now!

roadroller: Glad you enjoyed it, and hope you'll continue to enjoy the other chapters! Just don't get locked up in that mental hospital though. XD

FisheyCakes: Good thing I got lucky on the draw! XD Thanks for the review!

SinnersLikeUs: Perverted Miku is just way too fun to write, and equally hilarious to visualize. XD I know some people can't really imagine Miku being aggressive, but for some reason, I can't help but see her like that. XP Glad you liked it!

And to each and every one of you, thank you very much! If I didn't respond to your review, please don't kill me, it still means a lot to me! Really!

Alright, alright, I'm done. XD Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well! 'Til next time! ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

My apologies, this came out a bit later than I anticipated. XD; I'd like to thank everyone for the kind reviews; really keeps me going! Here's chapter 3, and I hope you guys enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I'd probably be rich if I owned the Vocaloids. About the only one I own as far as I know is Luka's mom, Yukari. XD

* * *

><p>She'd been enjoying her sleep, so it was to be expected that Luka was more than a little annoyed at having her very pleasant slumber interrupted by the sound of her bedroom door slamming open unceremoniously. This was made worse when it was followed immediately by an energetic voice crying happily, "Good morning, Luka-senpai~!"<p>

Growling, Luka turned over, pulling the covers over her head. Though this helped somewhat to muffle the sounds of the noisy tealette, it did nothing to stop her approach.

"C'mon, senpai! Rise and shine!"

To Luka's further irritation, the curtains above her bed were flung open, causing the tiny shred of sunshine that had dared intrude on her personal domain to become a full on blast of the accursed sun. "You don't have to do this everyday, you know," she grumbled, clearly in a grouchy mood. She tugged the covers more securely over her head.

"Of course I do!" Miku said cheerfully as she yanked the covers away from her. "After all, I like you, and I-"

"'-care about your well-being, Luka-senpai~!'" Luka mimicked in a mocking imitation of Miku's higher-pitched voice, displeasure dripping heavily off of every word. In her normal (well, for the morning, anyway) voice, she snapped, "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before."

The younger girl was unaffected by her senpai's rudeness. Instead, she smiled brighter. "See? You're getting it, senpai!"

A heavy sigh came from the pinkette. She rose into a sitting position, glowering darkly up at the girl standing over her with her hands clasped behind her back and a smile that seemed even more irritatingly radiant than the sun plastered over her face. After the first few fiascos with Miku catching her in just a tank top and panties, Luka had gone back to wearing pink pajamas to bed. It was just a relief the initial spike of hot weather had finally gone away, otherwise it would've been _really_ unbearable.

She fixed Miku with a withering glare and folded her arms over her chest, partly to express irritation, but mostly to cover up her chest and keep the pervert from getting front-row seats to her boobs (she cursed her pajama top for coming a bit undone last night). The tealette responded by tipping her head to the side and smiling (though her eyes did twinkle with perverted mischief as they semi-except-not-really-discreetly moved in the direction of her goodies).

"Y'know, senpai," she remarked. "I never get tired of how cute you are in the mornings. It's so different from how you usually are!"

Luka rolled her eyes. _Idiot._

Snapshot. _When the hell did she get that camera out anyway...?_ The girl was practically a ninja with how quick she could move sometimes...

"Teehee~ even your little drool trail is so cute~" she swooned.

The older girl blinked. Hesitantly, she reached up to her face, and her fingers soon brushed against a trail of wetness from the corner of her mouth. She winced inwardly. Faintly coloring with embarrassment, she quickly rubbed it away with her sleeve, grimacing with distaste. Miku's grin widened.

"There's still a little puddle on your pillow too~"

Blue eyes moved toward the aforementioned puddle, unfortunately confirming its existence. Luka's cheeks heated further with embarrassment. Struggling to gain what little composure she could, she growled, "Out. I need to get changed."

"Hm? But I don't need to get out for that, do I?" Miku asked, her voice full of innocence. In a wheedling tone, she continued, "It's just us girls here~"

The dark scowl on Luka's face said that she was not amused in the least. She aimed a finger out the door. "_Out._ I am _not_ giving you a free peepshow, you little pervert."

Miku blushed, shyly holding her cheeks as she dug a toe bashfully into the floor. "Aww... When you say it like that, sen- oof!"

She was interrupted by a pink pillow flying into her face. "It's not a compliment, dammit!" Luka snapped. "Now get out!"

"Boo, you're no fun, senpai..." Miku began to make a big show out of sulkily heading for the door, each foot dragging as her shoulders slumped.

Naturally, this had no effect on Luka, who sat with arms folded over her chest until she heard the pest's footsteps fade. When she was satisfied, Luka sighed, shaking her head. That stupid girl... She got out of bed and began to stretch, wincing as she heard a few joints popping back into place. Time to face a new day, she supposed with another sigh. She glanced at her phone, resting on her nightstand. Was it really only Tuesday? She was surprised at how much sleep she'd gotten, considering she had fallen asleep last night while still shivering over mental images of a wild Miku dragging her around town on whatever might pass for a date in that maniac's mind. Ah yes... She still wondered what could have possessed her to agree to her request for a date for this Saturday... Well, she reasoned, she hadn't really thought it'd be so different from hanging out with any of her friends...

_Yes, because all of my friend__s drool all over my panties anytime they get a chance to see them..._ Wow... Facepalm... God, she must have gone brain-dead for an hour or so to have agreed...

But there was nothing to be done about it now. Whatever else she might be, Megurine Luka was a woman of her word, and if Hatsune Miku did indeed end up getting a 100 on her test, then she had no choice but to honor their agreement.

It sucked having a sense of morality sometimes.

Shrugging to herself in defeat, Luka began to unbutton her top. She pulled it off of her shoulders and-

She paused. Was it her imagination, or had she heard a voice? Luka could have _sworn_ she'd heard someone muttering in a very turned-on sounding voice, "Oh yeah, take it off!"

...

She facefaulted. Ah. But of course.

* * *

><p>Just outside of Luka's room, Miku sat just out of sight. She grinned, her eyes filled with perverted glee at what she'd just seen. Granted, she hadn't been able to see Luka-senpai's goodies full on, but there had just been that promising little glimpse of what lay underneath that top of hers... And besides, she reasoned, sometimes things were just more enticing if they could only be barely seen. She suppressed a perverted giggle. It was probably safe to sneak another peek now. Maybe she'd catch Luka-senpai with nothing but her panties on while she rifled through her drawer? Ooh, she was getting a nosebleed now just thinking about it, and it'd be a good opportunity to see what kind of panties she was wearing tod-<p>

When Miku poked her head around the corner, she came across something impeding her view. She blinked. If she wasn't mistaken, it looked like... a very nice leg. Shifting her gaze to the side a bit confirmed there was an equally nice leg to make a pair. Slowly, she lifted her gaze up along the expanse of shapely legs to follow the equally shapely figure, now clad in their school's uniform, up past the slender arms that were folded over a rather well-endowed chest, and then up towards a pair of smoldering crystal-blue eyes. The look in those eyes currently reflected death, doom, and a thousand different unsavory fates, a look that would have made most people quail with fear. Hatsune Miku, however, was not like most people, quickly proven because most people, when staring their death in the face, would not have said what she said.

"...'Sup?"

Luka smiled down at her then. And though it was a smile as beautiful as any of her other rare smiles, this one was cold, matching the subzero temperatures that radiated from her terrifying aura.

"Hatsune-san," the Ice Princess greeted her in a friendly, cheerful tone coated with frost and venom. "I trust you were enjoying the view?"

This was the question with no answer. Any answer to this question was simply incorrect. This was the question that even the greatest of minds would not dare answer, even knowing that not answering was just as fatal as an incorrect response. Given this, it was hard to say whether it was insanity, stupidity, or something else entirely that drove Hatsune Miku to answer. And while any answer to this question was incorrect, her answer probably didn't help her position any, seeing how her eyes had trailed down to Luka's skirt. At her current angle, she was able to see for herself that underneath the navy-blue pleated skirt she was wearing, her beloved senpai was wearing pink and white striped panties. A perverted grin crossed her mouth, a trickle of blood spilling from her nostrils.

"Ehehe... Well," she said honestly, "That last view was good... But this one's good too!"

Luka's smile twitched.

* * *

><p>"Luka-chan!" Yukari called as she headed up the stairs. "I'm headed to work now! You girls be sa-"<p>

She stopped upon seeing the sight that greeted her. Miku was on the floor, one cheek pressed hard against said floor, while Luka stood above her, arms folded over her chest and one foot pushing down on Miku's head. Her daughter's face was the visage of death itself. By contrast, Miku... well...

"Oh, senpai!" Miku wailed, caught between agony and ecstasy. "I had no idea you were such a sadist! Oh, punish me more, my mistress!"

"Still saying things like that? !" Luka screeched, grinding her foot harder into the side of Miku's face. "Huh? !"

"Oh, _**YES!**_ Please punish your disobedient servant more, my mistress!"

A vein all but exploded on Luka's head as she began to shout,_** "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! PERVERTS LIKE YOU SHOULD JUST DIE! DIE! DIE ALREADY! DIE!"**_

Yukari blinked, but then tipped her head to the side, touching her cheek with her fingertips as she smiled a cute smile that would not have been out of place on a girl half her age. "My, it's so nice to see you two getting along so well~"

Her comment went unheard as the two carried on. Yukari turned to descend the stairs, calling over her shoulder, "Don't be late for school, girls!"

She covered her mouth to stifle her giggle. _Those two are just too cute~_

* * *

><p>Given that their... "play"... took quite some time, it was actually impressive that Miku and Luka managed to get to school with time to spare. Luka's face was set into a mild scowl like always, but her aura was frostier than normal. Meanwhile, Miku, who seemed to be immune to it, walked beside her, chipper as ever, even with the bandage adorning her left cheek. They walked to the building together, where they would normally part ways so that they could change from their outdoor shoes to the school-issue ones.<p>

(One would think this was a perfect opportunity for Luka to escape, but it never worked. Somehow, Hatsune Miku was capable of getting her locker open, changing her shoes, and then heading over to where Luka was in the span of time that it took the older girl to even start putting on her first shoe...)

As they walked together, both girls were greeted by a friendly, "Yo!"

They turned to see Gakupo walking up to them, having just gotten through the school gate himself. "Good morning, ladies," he greeted them warmly.

Luka nodded to him in friendly acknowledgement, while Miku chirped cheerfully, "'Morning, Gakupo-senpai!"

He sauntered up beside them as he asked, "How're you two today?" In particular, he eyed Miku's bandaged cheek with a mix of amusement and interest.

Obviously unfazed by her injury, she grinned and replied, "Doing great!"

In contrast to Miku's overly sunny response, Luka rolled her eyes, but admitted, "Could be worse."

Gakupo laughed lightly. "Ever the optimist, eh Luka?"

She smiled at this. She found herself regretting it as soon as an unmistakable flash came from beside her, along with an equally unmistakable sound of a camera taking a snapshot, and topping off the unmistakable trifecta was the unmistakable sound of Miku fawning, "Another of Luka-senpai's rare smiles~ Kyaa~~~"

The withering glare the pinkette sent her way was wholeheartedly ignored, earning instead another snapshot ("Senpai's scowling face is so lovely~~!"). Facefaulting, Luka turned back to Gakupo, who was smiling in unabashed amusement at the younger girl's antics. In an effort to ignore Miku, she asked, "How's the kendo club treating you, Gakupo?"

The knowing smile he gave her and twinkle in his eye told her he knew exactly what she was doing, but he chose to humor her all the same. "Not too bad. Some of the senpais are pretty demanding though. We've got a tournament coming up, so I can understand why- GAH!"

He was rudely interrupted by a slender pair of arms wrapping around his neck from behind, along with a pair of legs that wrapped around his waist, and a hearty cry of "Gaku-nii-chan~~~!"

A head of green hair nuzzled into the back of his head as he managed to choke out, "G-God dammit, Gumi! Let go! You're choking me!"

"Uuu... Just a little longer!" she pleaded, her limbs wrapping tighter around him. Her full body hug held an affection of such liveliness and enthusiasm that it bordered upon violence. After a few moments of Gakupo steadily turning blue, she loosened her grip, crying happily, "Okay! Recharge complete!"

Gakupo panted for air, hunching over with the green-haired menace perched on his back, still refusing to drop down. Aiming an annoyed glare at her over his shoulder, he barked, "Dammit, Gumi! You almost killed me there! Can't you greet me like a normal sibling?"

Gumi pouted childishly. "Don't wanna! Normal's way too boring!"

The older boy sighed. Gumi aimed a watery-eyed gaze at him. "Y-You... don't like my greetings anymore, onii-chan...?"

Gakupo facefaulted. It was obvious there was no way for him to resist that look, so he reached over and ruffled her hair playfully, instantly drawing a bright smile upon contact. She tightened her hug, though thankfully not to the life-threatening level of enthusiasm as before.

It could probably have been thought that these antics by the two Kamui siblings were cute. A few of the passing students did indeed think so, but beside them, two girls watched with vastly differing reactions.

Hatsune Miku had watched them in silence, her head tipping to the side with a cutely confused expression on her face. Megurine Luka had watched with a look of utter disbelief.

"G... Gumi...?" she choked out.

Gumi looked up from her position on Gakupo's back to see the pinkette's shocked and apprehensive face. She immediately broke out into a wide, toothy grin. "Hi-hi, Luka-san! Long time no see, ne?"

"U-Un..." Luka conceded. It was hard to miss the uneasiness on her face. "You're looking well..."

"I sure am!" she chirped. Her gaze dropped a few inches below Luka's face, and her eyes immediately widened with a hushed "Whoa!"

In the next instant, she had all but teleported off of her brother's back to stand in front of Luka, leaning forward so that her face was but an inch away from Luka's breasts. She hummed contemplatively, her eyebrows furrowing into a thoughtful expression as she scrutinized the assets in front of her eyes. There was scarcely time to react before Gumi had teleported to another angle of the pinkette. She repeated this again and again, analyzing every last inch of the beauty she beheld before her. Finally, she stepped in front of Luka, cupping her chin thoughtfully as her eyes closed in seemingly meditative thought.

"Hmm..."

Luka sweatdropped, especially when she glanced around at the other students who had stopped to watch the spectacle. Presently, Gumi opened her eyes again, smiling a million-watt smile that sent a chill up Luka's spine.

"Yup! You have _definitely_ filled out some more, Luka-san! Wow, that's just too awesome, y'know? I wonder how much sexier your figure's gonna get?" She began to teleport all around her again, her fingers framed as if to visualize a photo and occasionally muttering "Oh yeah...!", "Yeah...!", "Perfect...!", and other things along those lines. Luka could do nothing but facepalm. The urge to smack her a good one was very strong, but technically, she hadn't touched her (yet), and hadn't attempted to go under her skirt (again, yet), so she didn't really have an excuse...

Besides, with the way she kept moving, it would have been easier to slap a fly on crack with a chopstick.

Beside the pinkette, Miku asked curiously, "What're you doing, Gumi-chan?"

Luka flinched. She slowly turned toward her, her left eye twitching uneasily. _Gumi... chan...?_

Wasn't that... a tad familiar...? A very bad feeling crept into her head...

For her part, Gumi had turned quizzically towards the tealette, finally ceasing in her rapid movements. Upon recognition, she instantly broke out into another big smile. "Oh, heya, Miku-chan! Sorry, didn't see you there! Tunnel vision, y'know? Ehe~" Gumi rapped her knuckles against her head, sticking her tongue out cutely.

The cuteness was lost on Luka, who turned a look of growing dread onto the green-haired girl. _Miku... chan...?_

The two girls looked up at her curiously, their heads tipping to the side simultaneously, Miku's to her left, Gumi's to her right.

"What's wrong, Luka-san/senpai?" they asked in sync.

The pinkette's eye was twitching in a manner that did not speak well of her current stress levels. "You guys are... being... awfully familiar... aren't you...?"

They blinked, looking at each other before returning their gazes at their senpai.

"Well, why not?" Gumi queried quizzically.

"After all, we're friends!" Miku chirped cheerfully.

"Neee~?" they chorused in adorable-except-not-really-at-this-moment unison.

Friends.

Only that one word was registering in Megurine Luka's head right now.

Friends.

_Friends._

These two menaces... were _friends._

Luka buried her face into her hands, her spirits and her sanity steadily crushed under the weight of growing despair. It was official: some deity out there truly hated her.

* * *

><p>"Ah, yeah, I'd heard about that," Lily remarked, tapping her cheek with her finger. "They got to be friends really quickly, but I guess I'm not surprised. That's pretty cool, actually!"<p>

In contrast to Lily's relaxed pose at her desk, Luka had her head cradled in her arms while slumping glumly in her seat. Luka could not disagree more with Lily's statement. This was _not_ cool, not by any stretch of the imagination. Not cool. Not. Cool. At all.

Before Hatsune Miku had ever existed in Luka's life, there had been Kamui Gumi. Luka had known of her around the first year of middle school, when she first became friends with Lily and the others. Despite Gumi only being a year younger than her brother, there hadn't much opportunity to meet her.

The parents of the Kamui family were both successful in their careers, but their work often took them traveling overseas. While Gakupo was allowed to stay behind when he had elected to stay at home rather than go traveling with them, they had felt it was too much of a burden to ask for him to also care for his younger sister, so Gumi ended up going with them. As a result, Gakupo and Gumi rarely had a chance to see each other, and when they did, it was often for no more than a week at a time before their parents had to leave again, again taking their daughter with them. Despite this, the Kamui siblings genuinely cared for one another, and Gakupo often proved to be a protective, doting older brother to Gumi, who responded to him with her own brand of warmth and affection. From what Luka was told by the two after she had recovered from most of her sudden bout of soul-crushing depression, Gumi had recently been able to convince her parents to let her stay at home with her brother. Upon getting the okay, she had hopped the first flight she could back to Japan and headed home, even having all of the paperwork for school already taken care of.

And apparently, it had been done so suddenly that Gakupo had only known of his sister's return when he was tackled on the walkway of his own house by a green-haired girl joyously yelling, "I'm home, onii-chan!"

Lily had found the story rather touching, and despite the fact that Luka seemed to have a heart of ice, she thought the story was touching too, especially since she knew how close they were. But her happiness for the two siblings was more than a bit dampened when she remembered the times that she had been subjected to Gumi. Their first meeting had set the tone for how the pinkette would react to the younger girl from then on. They had first met when Luka and a few of their friends had been over at Gakupo's place to hang out. At the time, Luka had still been very much the shy, awkward girl she had been in elementary school, though she had steadily been developing a backbone and more confidence in herself. It had been one of the rare times that Gumi was able to visit her brother, and when she came into the room, Gakupo had handled the introductions. Gumi had half-listened to the introductions, her eyes singling out Luka from the group. She had walked forward, seemingly in a trance, eyes fixated on the pinkette.

Nervously, Luka had asked, "Y-Yes...?"

And then, in a voice that had sent the hairs on the back of her neck standing, Gumi had said the words that would be forever ingrained into Luka's memory.

* * *

><p><strong>Years ago...<strong>

"Your breasts. Give them to me."

With only those words as warning, the green-haired girl reached out and grabbed the objects of her fixation. Luka gawked down at her, her brain unable to process what exactly was happening to her, and everyone else apparently experiencing the same phenomenon. Their faces all turned bright red, and a blissful smile crossed Gumi's face.

"Kyaa~~~ These feel so nice~~~" she sighed happily. "Almost makes me wanna bury my face into them~~~" She began to lean forward. "I bet they'd feel so ni-"

"_**IYAAAAAAAA! ! !"**_

The sound of a _very_ hard slap rang out through the entire house.

* * *

><p><strong>Present...<strong>

A sweatdrop rolled down the side of Luka's head at the memory. To this day, she still could not believe the girl had done that to her on their _first_ meeting. Lily would unabashedly howl with laughter whenever she remembered it, but Luka had not found it funny in the least. Gumi was also one of the ones who thought it was hysterical, even if she had spent the rest of the night with a stinging red hand mark on her face. From that day forward, the green-haired girl would seize every opportunity to take measurements of Luka's body, for God alone knew what purpose... From the looks of it, she _still_ had a fascination with her body... which did not bode well for Luka at all. But the fact that Gumi was doubtless going to be a regular part of her life (because if anything, Gumi was pretty much attached to Gakupo's hip if her brother was anywhere within range) would have been bearable, except there was a problem.

Hatsune Miku.

It did not bode well for Luka's sanity to think that she would have not one, but _two_ highly energetic perverts all over her. She was glad Gakupo lived far enough away from her that she wouldn't need to worry about getting tag-teamed by Gumi and Miku in the mornings... She sighed, burying her face into her arms.

"Aww, don't fret, princess," Lily said, petting her hair. Having been one of the eyewitnesses present for Luka's first encounter with Gumi, and having been present for most of Luka's other encounters with the pervert, it didn't take a genius to figure out what she was despairing about. "It prolly won't be so bad."

"Easy for you to say," Luka griped. "You're not the one who gets assaulted by her at practically every chance."

"Not _every_ time," the blonde conceded. "But... enough."

Luka had to give her that. A key difference between Gumi and Miku lay in their targets. For Miku, pretty much all of her perversions were aimed at Luka. For Gumi, however, nearly anyone was fair game, boys and girls alike. Honestly, it was hard to tell which of them was worse, because while Gumi could and would be perverted about anything within range, she thought Miku had her number as far as severity...

"Well..." Lily said with a relaxed smile as she patted Luka's head. "Guess you better be careful now, hime-sama~"

Luka's reply was a sarcastic growl of, "Thanks."

* * *

><p>Thankfully, the day had not been as bad as she'd feared it would be.<p>

Luka plopped herself down on the sofa, sighing. She was so glad to be home now... Was it really only Tuesday? It felt like it shouldn't be. On the other hand, she often felt like this on weekdays. Well, at least she'd already done all of her homework, so she had time to kill until it was time to hit the hay. She was about to get up to head to her PS3 when she caught sight of Miku sitting at the low table in the living room. The tealette was doing her homework, and her face was set into a determined expression that Luka hadn't really seen before. It was a change of pace from the irritatingly cheerful smiles and the irritatingly perverted grins, and their ilk. She looked almost cute like that, especially with her brow furrowed in thought the way it was now. A small smile crossed Luka's mouth at this, but as soon as she realized what she was thinking, she shook her head violently.

_Wh-What the hell...? As if that brat could ever be cute!_

Huffing lightly, Luka got up and stormed over to her PS3. She was about to rifle through her game collection until she paused. Wouldn't it be rude of her to play a game while Miku was busy trying to study? Frowning, she decided that she didn't really feel like playing games tonight. She decided to get herself some of the cold tea that was in the fridge and just sip on that.

When she returned, she set down a glass for Miku as well. The tealette looked up at her, smiling gratefully. "Thanks, senpai! You're so sweet!"

Luka averted her eyes with a dismissive scoff. "Don't get the wrong idea. I just figured I should at least attempt to be a gracious host. You come over here all the time anyway."

"Yeah, I guess I do~"

There was a cheeky quality to the tealette's voice that she didn't like, but Luka decided against pressing it. She probably wouldn't like the response anyway.

The two girls spent the rest of the evening in companionable silence, interrupted mostly by the scratching of Miku's pencil against paper.

* * *

><p>Friday morning began so nicely for Luka.<p>

This, she decided, was the best way to wake up. Her first sensation was of warmth, and she instinctively curled closer to where it was warmest. It was soft to the touch as well, and she let out a sigh of pure bliss, a lazy smile curving her lips. She took a slow inhale, her nostrils filled with a sweet, fruity scent that enhanced her contentment. Luka wrapped her arms around what seemed to be the source of all this, pulling it closer to her body and entangling her legs with it as well. Something was tickling her nose, but she found she didn't mind it that much, especially since it seemed to be the source of that delicious scent. If only it were not a weekday... then she would have happily spent the whole day just lying in bed and wallowing in this wonderful sensation... She sighed sadly, but knew she'd have to face the day. Slowly, Luka opened her eyes...

Her first thought was to wonder why her vision was filled with teal. She blinked blearily, whirring out something that sounded something like, but was not quite, "Huh?"

_Teal..._

Her mind searched for something to match the color "teal" with. Against the exposed skin just above the neckline of her tank top, she felt a soft, rhythmic sensation. It wasn't exactly warm, leaning more towards hot, and a bit moist too... It was strange, but it wasn't unpleasant. Actually, it felt kind of nice, and it sent pleasant shivers through her body every time it occurred.

_Teal..._

"Mm... senpai's scent..." a muffled voice murmured dreamily. Luka's brain was at least awake enough to realize that she had felt as much as heard the words, and that it was quite close to her... to her chest... on the previously mentioned skin above her neckline, to be exact...

_...Teal..._

She looked down wildly at her chest and whatever was on it. Her eyes widened, and her face flushed a deep red as her brain finally matched up "Teal" with something, or rather some_one_, that was all too familiar.

"Ehehe..."

If she'd had _any_ doubts about the identity of what she realized with horror that she had been curling up against, the sound of that very familiar, _very_ unwelcome perverted giggle would have dispelled them. Luka became aware of a growing wet spot on her top, and she began to tremble, choking out strangled noises as her face grew very, very hot.

A soft groan came from the teal head that she was staring at, and soon, two teal eyes were gazing up at her. "Oh..." a sleepy-eyed Hatsune Miku murmured, a small rivulet of drool trickling out a corner of her mouth. "Good morning, Luka-senpai~"

Luka gave no coherent response, her expression of red-faced mortification apparently not registering with the younger girl. Her trembling worsened...

A sleepy, but no less perverted, grin spread over Miku's face. "Your chest makes a really nice pillow, senpai~ Put me right to sleep~ Ne, we should do this more of-"

"_**KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ! ! ! !"**_

* * *

><p>"What could those girls be doing?" Yukari wondered aloud, a rather cute frown adorning her face. Had Miku-chan fallen asleep while trying to wake up Luka-chan? That was possible, especially since Miku-chan had looked much more tired than she normally did these past few days...<p>

She was about to reach the last step to the top when she heard her daughter's ear-splitting shriek. In alarm, she stared at the door to her daughter's room, listening to the various crashing and clattering noises that exploded from the doorway.

"_**HATSUNE MIKU, YOU ARE THE WORST! YOU ARE A SEX OFFENDER OF THE WORST KIND! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO ME SO EARLY IN THE MORNING, YOU **_(an exceptionally loud crash drowned out her voice until she heard)_**ING PERVERT? ! ? ! GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!"**_

The tealette fled from the room, giggling. Once she'd exited, she turned around to call back into the room. "Aw, c'mon, senpai! No need to be so bashful! You should be proud to have a body like- OW!"

Yukari winced at the sight of a washpan hitting Miku square in the face. The younger girl staggered back, clutching her nose and groaning in pain as Luka continued to hurl insults.

"_**SHUT UP, PERVERT! CRIMINAL!**__** GO DIE! GO SHOVE A SILICON DILDO UP YOUR ASS AND DIE!"**_

Immediately following was Luka stomping out of her room, her face redder than a tomato and clutching a pair of sweatpants and a jacket to her chest. Yukari's giggling caught her daughter's attention.

"And you!"she screamed, stabbing an accusing finger at her. "Why are you laughing? Your daughter was upstairs, getting molested in her bed, and all you do is just laugh!"

Smiling cheerfully, her mother chirped, "But I think it's cute how well you two are getting along!"

Luka choked with disbelief. "What part of this exactly is getting along?" she screeched incredulously.

The disbelieving question was seemingly disregarded as her mother told her, "Breakfast is on the table, honey! I'll see you after work! Bye-bye!"

With that, Yukari began to head downstairs. Luka stood at the top of the stairs, waving her fists wildly and raging shrilly at her back, _"Y'KNOW, KAA-SAN, YOU REALLY SUCK SOMETIMES!"_

"Yes, your father used to tell me I don't do it often enough~" Yukari said in a lighthearted and also somewhat suggestive manner...

Luka flushed an even deeper red, her expression stricken. Recovering somewhat, she screamed with shrill embarrassment, _**"WHAT KIND OF MOTHER ARE YOU? ! I DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW THAT ABOUT YOU AND TOU-SAN! HOW COULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT SO CASUALLY TO YOUR OWN DAUGHTER? ! **__**GEEZ, I AM SURROUNDED BY PERVERTS!"**_

Yukari giggled girlishly as she left the house, offering a casual wave over her shoulder.

_I'm so glad Luka-chan is so energetic in the mornings these days~_

* * *

><p>"So..." Lily said as her friend sat down, her expression suggesting thoughts of horrific atrocities. "Um... rough morning?"<p>

The Ice Princess did not move her head, but instead looked at the blonde out of the corners of her eyes. Lily paled, shrinking into herself.

"Shutting up," she squeaked pathetically.

Luka's gaze returned to boring holes through the skulls of the students unfortunate enough to sit in front of her and through the wall.

Lily let out a discreet sigh of relief, wiping away the droplets of cold sweat that had started on her forehead.

_Man, if looks could kill..._

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"So..." Gumi said as her friend sat down in the desk beside her, her eyes as wide as Rin and Len's as they stared too. "Um... rough morning?"

Miku giggled as she scratched her cheek, an X-shaped bandage over her nose. "Ehehe... well, it started off good..."

* * *

><p>"Has Miku-chan always been that studious?"<p>

Luka glanced over at Lily. The blonde had her feet up on her desk, leaning back with her chair balanced only on the two hind legs. Good for her, she had shorts on underneath her skirt, so she didn't need to worry about flashing anybody her panties while sitting in her current position. Lily was also deftly spinning her mechanical pencil around her fingers, a skill she had perfected over her studies during numerous past free study periods. Luka's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. There was a certain air of _innocence_ around that question, and the way her friend glanced over at her out of the corner of her eyes only heightened her suspicion. Pursing her lips, the Ice Princess turned back to her math worksheet.

Sometimes, she really hated free study time.

"Perhaps," she replied vaguely, keeping her tone cool and level. "Why, have you heard something again?"

"Oh, not really," Lily remarked airily, letting her friend's coolly derisive words brush right off her shoulder. "I mean, good for her if she's working so hard, yeah? She seems pretty driven though. Y'know, 'eyes on the prize' kinda mentality, from the looks of it."

Luka bristled, but concealed it as best as she could. Admittedly, the week had been allowed to pass in a mercifully normal fashion. Truthfully, part of why things had been so normal this week had been that Miku had not really engaged in her usual antics, leaving Gumi to work alone, and she had taken a great deal of joy in particularly targeting her brother. For Miku's part, she always seemed to have her nose in a textbook or her notes. She barely even paid attention to the conversations anymore while she sat with their group, too busy focusing on her studies. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was studying for her English exam, and Luka had no doubts that, however Lily had managed to find her information, she would have put two and two together.

Scowling, the Ice Princess bit out, "You seem to have a theory."

"I always have theories," Lily replied, exuding a maddeningly complacent air. "I've actually got one concerning the latest behavior for our favorite twintailed girl ("_Our_ favorite?" Luka asked with a raised eyebrow. This interjection went ignored). Care to hear it?"

"Not especially."

"Great! Okay, so..."

Luka sighed. In this mode, for Lily, "No" or any answer resembling "No" was treated like a "Yes." She would make a great rapist one day, the pinkette thought sourly.

"See, the way I hear it, Miku-chan isn't really the most studious of people. She's not dumb or anything; just gets average grades. She's a normal, everyday kinda girl, y'know?"

"I beg to differ," Luka muttered darkly. About the most _normal_ thing about that girl was that she still ate, slept, and drank soda just like everybody else...

Naturally, Luka's sour muttering went ignored. Rolling right over her, the nosy journalist continued, "But see, all of a sudden, she gets this _drive_ to study. The subject's pretty specific too. Word on the street (Luka's eye twitched at this phrase, knowing it never heralded anything favorable for her) is she's _really_ into studying English~"

"Oh, is that so?" Indifferent, but with a definitely acidic undertone.

"Yup," Lily tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I'd say she's working for something, wouldn't you?"

Pressing her lips together in annoyance, the Ice Princess turned to fix Lily with a glare. Coldly, she hissed, "Cut to the chase. What are you getting at?"

Lily had returned her glare with a smug smirk, looking at her out of the corner of her eye. "Nothing, really," she said casually. "But I did hear her reward if she got a good score was something _highly_ enviable. What a lucky girl, ne?"

Luka sighed, turning back to her desk. Deflating, she said, "It's practically a foregone conclusion. That girl's a force of nature when she gets her mind set on something."

A blonde eyebrow cocked at this. "Is that admiration I hear, your highness?"

She scoffed. "Hardly. It's pretty scary actually."

Despite her words, her tone was actually surprisingly soft. Lily eyed her friend carefully before a gentle smile crossed her lips. "I see."

* * *

><p>Next period found Luka only half-paying attention in class, seeing how this was all material she'd gone over many times already anyway. This allowed her thoughts to drift, and seeing how much of her time that brat took up now, her thoughts naturally gravitated towards Hatsune Miku. Today, she reflected, would be the day that Miku would get her test back. She sighed quietly, the sound scarcely different from a regular exhale, and thankfully the only person who would have been able to tell the difference was lying facedown on the desk, hiding her head of blonde hair behind an open textbook as she slept soundly. By now, she'd long since resigned herself to her fate. She hoped the girl would go a little easier on her though; they'd be in public, for crying out loud...<p>

Then again, it wasn't like that ever stopped her from blatantly taking pictures of her. How irritating...

_Stupid girl._

She wondered what she should wear. A skirt would be a bad idea; that was just _begging_ for the pervert to take pictures of her panties. But... jeans weren't any better either. All the ones she owned (almost always bought at Lily and Meiko's insistence, damn them) hugged her curves, and she could just picture Miku slavering all over her...

Come to think of it, she was pretty much screwed no matter what...

Luka glanced at the clock. About twenty-five minutes left until school was out for the day. Doubtless, Miku would be gushing with excitement once they were out... She shook her head, _really_ not looking forward to that...

* * *

><p>The normally blessed ringing of the final bell announced that the weekend had officially begun. Luka smiled wryly to herself as she changed out of her shoes, by this point in time already knowing what to expect, given Hurricane Miku's tendencies.<p>

But surprisingly, the hurricane never came. Instead, when the tealette came up to her, it was with a calm disposition. In response to Luka's gaze of mild surprise, Miku tipped her head to the side, smiling brightly.

"C'mon, senpai, let's go home!"

"U-Un..."

This was... unexpected.

* * *

><p>Much to her amazement, the walk back home was actually spent in silence. Silence wasn't an unusual occurrence when they walked home together, but Luka felt it was unusual today because she'd been expecting Miku to be absolutely overflowing with excitement over securing her "date" (<em>Ugh...<em>) with her for tomorrow. She cast puzzled glances down at the younger girl every so often. She didn't seem saddened or anything... In fact, she had on a genuinely sunny and happy smile the entire time... To say this was completely unexpected would have been an understatement, and Luka found herself wondering what the result must have been.

She was still wondering about this even up to the time that they walked in through the front door of Luka's house. As they took off their shoes, it became apparent to her that if she didn't say anything, then Miku never would. So to that end, she remarked as casually as she could, "You haven't told me what you got on your English test."

Miku grinned _far_ too innocently at her. "Are you curious~?"

Luka glowered, her face feeling a little hot (with annoyance, of course) at what she was implying. "Hardly," she spat. "But since I asked, I'd like to know now."

The younger girl giggled. Luka was about to demand to know what was so damn funny, but Miku had headed to the kitchen table. Luka followed suit while the tealette rummaged through her book bag. When she found it, she pulled it out and presented it to Luka with a smile. She took it and looked. Blink. The score took a moment for her to process.

"Hatsune-san?" She couldn't help the sound of surprise in her voice.

"Hm?" Unperturbed.

"You... You were short by one point?"

"Yeah." Miku stuck her tongue out cutely, rubbing the back of her head with embarrassment. "Made a stupid little error, so I lost a point... Idiot mistake, huh?"

Luka looked at the mark in question. Indeed, it was a pretty dumb mistake... On a multiple-choice section, she'd circled an incorrectly spelled choice as her answer instead of the correct one. She noted the eraser marks around the correct answer too. "You had it right the first time," she pointed out.

"Ehe~ Yeah... I was worried about that one," Miku remarked. "I guess it's cuz I was a bit sleepy when I had to take it."

Luka fixed her with a measuring gaze. Looking back down at the exam, she said quietly, "You haven't been getting enough sleep because you were studying until late, weren't you?"

The tealette grinned. "Something like that," she replied, accentuating her answer with a half-shrug.

The older girl accepted this with a nod, her eyes not leaving the error on the test. It _was_ pretty dumb, especially since this was something that she had gone over with Miku before already. Then again, it was true that stupid mistakes often happened when one got careless... or sleepy, for that matter. She looked over at the score again. 99 out of 100 was actually a really good score... It wasn't a 100, but...

After taking a quiet breath, Luka asked, "So, what time are you picking me up tomorrow?"

Miku, who had still been smiling sheepishly until now, looked up at her in surprise. "Huh?"

Luka huffed impatiently and repeated, enunciating as if she were talking to a small child, "What time are you picking me up tomorrow?"

Miku blinked. Tipping her head to the side, she said, "But senpai... I didn't get a 100. The deal was you'd hang out with me tomorrow if I got a 100."

"That may be so, but..." Turning her scowl down at the paper again as she tossed it onto the table, Luka continued, "Well... regardless... this is a big improvement. And it's close enough to a 100, so I... I guess you earned your reward..."

She looked up to face Miku. The tealette was staring at her with wide eyes, clearly startled. Luka flushed and quickly averted her eyes.

"D-Don't get the wrong idea!" she snapped hurriedly. "I-I just think progress should be rewarded! That's all!" She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a nonchalant gesture, her scowl deepening as she continued, "B-Besides, it's not like I'd be free of you even if I didn't decide to give in to your demands! And I figure as long as I am forced to endure your presence, I'd like to go outside once in a while!"

During the course of Luka's tirade, Miku's face had steadily gone from a look of astonishment into a broad, happy grin. "Well, whatever the reason, I'm just happy to have my date with you, senpai!"

A stricken expression crossed the older girl's face, her cheeks turning bright red. "Y-You idiot!" she shouted. "It's not a date! I told you not to call it a date! Idiot! Dummy! Stupid leek-eating pervert!"

"Ahaha~ Sowwy~"

Miku's apology sounded infuriatingly insincere...

* * *

><p>Luka lay in her bed, her eyes closed as she comfortably rested her head on her pillow. Before Miku had gone back home, the two girls had agreed to meet up tomorrow at eleven-thirty. That was fine with her, since that was still plenty of time for her to get in several long hours of shuteye and then get herself ready to go out.<p>

...And why the hell had she even put herself in this situation anyway?

Luka's eyes opened. Yeah... why _did_ she do this...? She could have completely sidestepped this. A golden opportunity had even presented itself; contrary to her fears, instead of getting that 100 that she had dreaded Hatsune Miku getting, she'd ended up getting a 99. As close as that was to 100, it wasn't a 100. So, technically, Miku had lost. And therefore, she was under no obligation to hang out with her.

...So... why did she do this? Was she going crazy? Had overexposure to Hatsune Miku rotted her brain, or irreparably damaged her logic centers?

What the hell was wrong with her?

_What the hell is wrong with me...?_

...

The next moment found Luka on her stomach, ruffling her hair in frustration as she buried her face into the pillow (partly out of frustration, partly out of a need to muffle her hysterical screaming, and partly because she felt the need to suffocate herself).

"_**ARRRGGGHH! ! ! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME? ! ? !"**_

* * *

><p>End Chapter 3<p>

* * *

><p>Truthfully? Chapter 3 wasn't supposed to be this long. XD Originally, chapter 3 and 4 were going to be put together, but chapter 3 became <em>really<em> long... and this is even after trimming a lotta unnecessary scenes. At the same time, it _does_ feel a bit rushed in certain places... -_-;;; I hope you guys find it enjoyable nevertheless though x_x

I really hope no one's getting sick of all the nosebleeds and Miku in bed-intruder mode stuff. XD; I know it's getting a bit repetitive, but I just end up getting carried away on those parts. Aggressive, perverted Miku is so fun to write it's probably illegal in some countries XD!

I'd like to extend a big "Thank you" to everyone who has left a review. I really do appreciate it! ^_^

Chapter 4 should be ready for posting sometime next week. Hope you guys will look forward to that! 'Til next time! ^_^v


	4. Chapter 4

Holy crap, I actually managed to upload it! *drops dead*

I'm so sorry, this really was not meant to take this long but... well, all hell broke loose at work and IRL last week, so I had literally _no_ chance to write at all. x_x I'll spare you guys the boring details, but the worst of it is over, so I'll hopefully be able to post a new chapter roughly every week. Emphasis on hopefully... XD;

As always, thanks for the reviews! I really do appreciate all of them, and I hope you guys will like this one too!

DISCLAIMER: The day I own Vocaloid, it will become unnecessary for me to write fanfiction. Until then, I own nothing. :\

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

* * *

><p>The morning sun found Hatsune Miku arising early as she always did. She sat up in bed, greeting the new day with a stretch and a smile.<p>

Like most days, her first thought this morning was of her senpai, Megurine Luka, but there was a much better reason this morning. After all, not only would she be seeing her today, she would also be headed out with her too! The thought alone brought a few extra watts of brightness to her face as she swung her legs off of the bed. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw her cell phone perched on her nightstand. Just as she always did in the mornings, she flipped it open, browsing through the pictures in her collection until she found the one that she could find blindfolded from how often she looked at it.

Miku smiled fondly. Though she had (to put it lightly) many pictures of Luka-senpai, this one, her first one, would always be her favorite. Though it would have been fantastic if it had been a picture of Luka holding out her arms amid a shower of falling sakura petals, or in the middle of flipping her hair against a moonlit background, it was actually just a very simple, candid photo. In the picture, Luka was merely leaning against a wall of the school, her hair spilling over one shoulder as she smiled gently to someone that she had been talking to at the time. Certainly, she had some better ones now, even some close-ups of the pinkette smiling, but this had been the first photo of her she'd taken, and it captured just about everything she liked about her. Her fond smile widened, knowing she'd be seeing her beloved senpai not too long from now.

In a soft, affectionate voice, she whispered, "Good morning, senpai~"

Hopping out of bed, she began to head downstairs at a brisk pace, looking forward to her day. Idly, she pondered the events of yesterday. Her English teacher was a sadistic ass who had apparently enjoyed the 100 question exam he'd handed out, the only thing pleasing him more being the looks of horror on everyone's faces. In his mind, multiple-choice exams made things too easy for their generation of punk kids, so he'd taken it upon himself to make sure that he would at least crush them beneath quantity. Really though, despite how much she had struggled with English in the past, Luka-senpai's tutoring had greatly improved her grades (though Miku still lamented that Luka absolutely refused the idea of wearing a sexy teacher outfit... that prude... the tealette had sulked about that for hours afterwards), so the exam had not been much of a problem, especially with all the studying she'd done on her own.

She giggled quietly. And to think... Miku had thought she would be nice and give her lovely senpai a little break by missing that one question. She sincerely doubted that Luka had realized she'd missed that one on purpose, after all. 99 of 100 was certainly a fine enough score, and it wasn't going to affect her grade in the class any, so she figured it was fine to let her senpai off the hook, but... Well, in all honesty, she hadn't expected Luka would start cracking so soon.

She smiled brightly, the million-watt shine to her expression contrasting with the dark mischief that twinkled in her teal eyes.

_Didn't know you wanted me so bad, Luka-senpai~~~_

* * *

><p>Across the street, Luka shivered in her bed, wondering why she was feeling such an overwhelming sense of dread...<p>

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang <em>exactly<em> at eleven-thirty, which Luka had anticipated. She opened the door to reveal Hatsune Miku's bright smile, complete with a cheerful greeting of, "Hi, senpai! Ready to go out for our date?"

Luka sighed, aiming a glower of disapproval at her but doing nothing more. There really was no point in trying to persuade her to not call it a date, for in Miku-Miku Land, it had already been determined to be one, so there wasn't much choice but to let her call it a date. Oh well, as long as she knew the truth, it was fine.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, her tone about as warm as a grilled steak thrown into a freezer and left in there for a week.

She was about to step forward to head out the door, but the tealette had not budged from her position. Instead, she stood before her, eyeing the older girl's attire and grinning with apparent approval... Luka's eye twitched under the pervert's lecherous scrutiny, making no effort to hide the fact that she was taking in the sight of her black shirt, her pink skirt, and zeroing in especially on the white knee socks Luka had chosen to wear. She could just imagine a rapid beeping noise as Miku's vision locked on to them, with absolutely no attempt at subtlety or anything... as usual.

"Hehe... White knee socks... Second only to black stockings! I very much approve!" Miku looked back up at her senpai's eyes, shooting her two thumbs up and exclaiming, "Good job!"

Luka was less than impressed. Instead of enjoying the praise, she turned on her heel, proclaiming flatly, "I'm changing."

"Uuu, senpai, don't be such a spoilsport!" Miku wailed, tugging desperately at her arm.

* * *

><p>"Do I dare ask what you have planned for me for today?"<p>

Luka asked this question after she and Miku had taken the train into town. The ride had been spent in relative peace, and now they walked side by side on the sidewalk towards whatever their first destination was to be. The older girl had her arms folded over her chest as she looked out of the corners of her eyes at the cheerful tealette sauntering beside her. At her question, the already cheerful smile seemed to brighten by another megawatt or two (vaguely, Luka wondered if Hatsune Miku could ever be harnessed to provide enough electricity for a major metropolis... it would certainly put her overwhelming energy to good use).

"I'm glad you asked, senpai!" She whipped out a small notebook from her purse, which appeared to be some kind of scheduler of sorts. After flipping through it, she announced, brash and cheery as if she were hawking detergent, "Let's see, our first stop is over at this new S&M parlor that opened up not far from here. I've got a fake ID for you too, so we can walk in no problems. I also brought along a very nice dominatrix outfit for you too! Black leather and- ow, ow, ow!"

She trailed off into various distorted sounds of pain, as the pinkette beside her had reached up and had begun tugging _very_ hard on her cheek.

"I-I was just joking, senpai! Honest!" At least, that's what it sounded like she was saying.

Either way, Luka released her, her expression unimpressed as ever. Miku rubbed her sore cheek, tittering, "But no, really, I've got nothing evil up my sleeves! Cross my heart!"

"Oh?" The older girl still had not deigned to look at her, but her tone conveyed her skepticism quite well.

"Uh huh! I figure we should start off with something normal, so I was thinking we'd go to the movies!"

Luka accepted this with a nod. That was normal enough. But come to think of it, Luka had paid so little attention to upcoming movies that she didn't really know what was playing. It seemed Miku did though, so she supposed it was fine to let her pick.

"Very well. Lead on, Hatsune-san."

Miku beamed as she saluted energetically and cheered, "Roger that! Let's go!"

* * *

><p>Seated inside of a comfortable café, Lily noisily sipped at her milkshake, frowning at seeing there was nothing left but foam. She gulped down the last remnants of her drink and sighed. "Well, it was nice while it lasted," she said mournfully.<p>

"Mm."

The noncommittal noise of what may or may not have been agreement came from the blonde girl sitting across the table from her. The girl had her hair in a side ponytail, holding in her hands a cell phone as yellow as the eyes focused on the screen were, her thumbs tapping skillfully across the keypad. Lily grinned at her. Akita Neru was one of the first years that had come onboard with the journalism club, and was also Lily's protégé. As a junior member, this did afford Lily a certain amount of lording it over the younger girl, but she never abused that power... much. In fact, the one time she had was when Neru was initially introduced to her as her charge. Just to see if she would, Lily had ordered her to be her footstool.

...Amazingly enough, after a few moments of sputtering and staring in disbelief, she actually obeyed, all the while muttering a whole stream of sour nothings under her breath.

Though that had not necessarily been a very good start to their working relationship, Lily had quickly grown fond of her. Neru too grew quite fond of her senpai, and had a great deal of respect for her, seeing how Masuda Lily was the star journalist of the school's newspaper (much to a certain pink-haired princess's distress). With the entrance of Hatsune Miku into the picture, Neru had become even more valuable to her senpai, since she was in the same class as the tealette and, as a friend of Miku's to boot, became an invaluable source of information for the older girl.

Even so, truthfully, Neru was a bit intimidated by Lily when she was in aggressive, nosy journalist mode (then again, so were most other people).

At the moment, the two girls were just hanging out together. Each of them was mutually bored anyway, seeing how everyone they knew was busy with someone else. Lily was still silently mourning the unwelcome news Neru had shared with her that Miku had not gotten that 100 on her test after all. She'd been hoping she could cover their date. Even though she wouldn't be able to publish it, as the rules for the newspaper specified that they could _only_ cover events going on within school grounds, it would at least make entertaining and juicy information for her own purposes. She thought it would be a good experience for Luka as well. Miku was a good kid after all.

Ah well... Sometimes, the luck of the draw was not in one's favor. Perhaps those two would make another deal at some later time, and then Miku would get her 100 and be able to go out on a date with Megurine Luka...

...Like they seemed to be just now.

Lily rubbed her eyes and then gawked again at the two girls that walked by. There was a bit of a crowd obscuring her line of sight, but how often did one get to see two girls, one with teal hair, and one with pink hair, together like that? Still not taking her eyes off the sight, she called, "Yo, Neru-chii..."

"Yes, senpai?" the girl replied, still not looking up from her phone.

"You said Miku-chan didn't get a 100, right?"

"Yeah. She was short by one." She decided it was irrelevant to mention that she was more than a bit jealous of that, seeing how she got the same score, if one ignored the fact she had missed about twenty more questions... What kind of world-class douche waffle made a 100 question English test anyway?

"So she shouldn't have gotten her date, right?"

"Yup."

"Well... looks like she got it anyway."

"Oh?" Neru looked up, looking over in her senpai's direction. Sure enough, it was them alright. That, or two girls pulling off excellent imitations of them. Her eyes widened slightly with surprise. "Huh. Well, good for her, I guess."

Lily slammed her hands onto the table and surged to her feet. "Let's follow them!" she cheered, excitement rolling off of her in waves.

"What?" Neru exclaimed incredulously. "Wait, senpai, we can't do that! They're on a date!"

"But we just gotta know what they're gonna do and if they're gonna do things and-" Lily caught herself in the middle of gushing. In a much more reasonable voice, she said, "What I mean is, Miku-chan and Luka-hime are dear friends of mine, and I need to make sure they enjoy themselves! Besides, don't you wanna make sure Miku-chan doesn't get her heart broken by the cruel Ice Princess? After all, who doesn't know about her reputation for breaking hearts, yeah?"

Neru frowned. This, unfortunately, was true... And, while it was nice that her friend had gotten the date she'd been working so hard for all week, she knew very well that the icy shell around Megurine Luka was far from melted... She wasn't exactly famous for letting her suitors down gently either...

"I... guess so..." she admitted reluctantly.

"Great! So let's go!" Lily enthused, seizing her hand and running out the door.

"Ah! W-Wait, senpai!" Neru protested. "We still have to pay!"

Lily froze in her tracks, her foot almost out the door as her expression turned blank with realization. With a loud, angry shout of "DAMMIT!" that attracted the attention of the whole restaurant, she zoomed up to the front counter, bowling over other patrons and employees in the process. She slapped her credit card onto the counter along with their bill and ordered, "Charge it! And make it snappy!"

The poor boy at the counter nodded shakily and did as she ordered. It was his first day of work, and they'd thought it was fine to start him off at an hour when it wasn't too busy but it became quickly apparent to him that his manager had not counted on the impatient blonde before him to be one of his customers. She visibly fumed, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor as she glared daggers at him bumbling around with the cash register.

Fed up with his obviously less than satisfactory speed, she thundered, "HURRY UP, DAMN YOU! I COULD DO THIS FASTER WITH MY FEET AND BLINDFOLDED!" The shorter blonde girl beside her shot him and the rest of the café an apologetic smile.

He finally managed to process the payment, but was not even allowed the chance to hand her the receipt. Instead, the blonde snatched it from his hand, signed it, and threw the signed copy into his face as she charged out the door, once more rolling right over the patrons she had knocked down during her rush to the counter. Sighing, he hoped the rest of his first day wouldn't be like this...

* * *

><p>The nosy journalist and her reluctant sidekick tailed the two girls to one of the movie theaters in town. Her nosiness rolling off of her in waves, Lily dragged Neru along until they were standing a few spots behind them in line, ostensibly to get their own tickets as well. The shorter girl contented herself with clicking away on her cell phone, sighing and shaking her head in disapproval at her senpai's excitement.<p>

Not for the first time in her working relationship with Masuda Lily, Neru found herself amazed at how nosy she could be. But then, that was probably how she had become the school newspaper's top journalist... She felt herself feeling a bit sorry for Megurine Luka-senpai, who _definitely_ did not appreciate all the attention she got, and who only seemed to get thrust into the limelight more and more courtesy of her friend. But there wasn't much, if anything, that she could do or say to stop this...

"Ahh, cheer up, Neru-chii!" Lily exhorted, slapping her hard on the back. The next time Neru took off her shirt, she would most likely find a stinging red hand mark on that exact spot. "No need to look so glum; we're just gonna see what movie they're watching! That's all!"

"If you say so, senpai..." she replied, wincing in pain. Still... if there was one thing Lily-senpai was right about, it was that Neru did want to make sure that Miku didn't get her heart broken.

Though, she thought with a sweatdrop, apparently, Miku was impervious to such setbacks...

A sharp gasp from beside her made Neru look up from her cell phone. She looked up at Lily, who was staring at the two girls by the ticket booth in utter shock. She blinked. Had she missed something? Probably; while she was at least a little curious about what movie the two would be watching, she also felt that Luka-senpai could use a break from everyone's constant snooping about in her business.

"What's up, senpai?"

"I... I just saw what movie they're gonna be watching..." Lily breathed.

Neru _really_ did not like that look in her eye. The gleam was borderline maniacal, and most certainly diabolical... It was easy to imagine devil horns growing out of her head right now, not helped by the fact that her grin had become downright sinister. Neru began to back away very slowly, having only seen this look on her senpai's face once in the past, and knowing that she had every right to be terrified at this moment. At this moment, she hoped that the Lily-saurus Rex's vision was based on movement, and that perhaps if she stayed very still, she wouldn't realize she was there. Inch by inch she scooted away. Slowly...

Slowly...

...

_Oh, who the hell am I kidding?_

Already turning to hurdle over the rope, she cried hurriedly, "Well, looks like we know what movie they're watching, ahaha! Time for me to be off now, see ya, senpai!"

Just as her leading leg had made it past the hurdle, Lily seized her by her side ponytail without even looking, causing poor Neru to cry out in pain as she slammed to the ground unceremoniously. "Ow! S-Senpai, that hurts!"

The Goddess of Nosiness did not notice, for Neru was dragged along behind her as she chuckled in a wicked fashion.

"We are _definitely_ not missing this show, Neru-chii... _Definitely_ not missing this..."

Lily was forced to come to a stop, giving Neru a moment to get her bearings. The younger girl managed to haul herself to her feet and dusted off her clothes. It was a good thing for her that her hair was so long, because the length of the leash that used to be her side ponytail afforded her enough room to be able to stand up and at least move away somewhat. She winced as Lily dragged them to the ticket booth.

"Excuse me!" the older girl said cheerfully. "Two tickets for that movie please! One adult and one child!"

"Wh-What? I am _not_ a child, senpai!" Neru exploded indignantly. Her outburst went ignored, Lily because she was too busy radiating a sort of sadistic glee that made all the other people in line behind them pale, and drew no reaction whatsoever from the cashier because frankly, he'd seen these sort of displays before.

Unflinchingly, the cashier handed them their tickets. Lily passed Neru the child ticket, which the younger girl accepted with a scowl of distaste. She grumbled darkly to herself as they walked to the entrance. It wasn't her fault that she was short... and flat... With no small amount of jealousy, her gold eyes went over to Lily's body, not even trying to hide the fact that she was dismally comparing measurements again. Though the school pretty much unanimously agreed that Megurine Luka was the most beautiful person on campus, Masuda Lily actually wasn't that far behind. At the very least, her sizes weren't. Neru sighed. What were they even going to be watching anyway? She glanced down at her ticket. She blinked once. Twice.

"Uhh... Is this necessarily a date movie?" she asked, a sweatdrop rolling down the side of her head.

"Don't know, don't care," the taller girl answered airily. "We've got a different show to watch!"

"Huh?"

"You'll see, my dear, dear Neru-chii..." Sinister chuckling issued forth from her lips. "You'll see..."

* * *

><p>It quickly occurred to Luka that she had made a fatal mistake.<p>

She hadn't even paid attention when the tickets were bought. In fact, she'd purposely stood apart from her and focused on something else as Miku cheerfully ordered their tickets. And now... Now Luka wished she hadn't done that. Her face was white as a sheet as she looked down at the ticket that wavered tauntingly in her trembling fingers. It was practically cackling at her expense, knowing what it was about to deliver her into. She swallowed hard.

"H-Hatsune-san?" she squeaked with an uncharacteristically timid voice.

"Hm?" Miku had just caught some popcorn in her mouth after tossing it lightly into the air and was chewing happily.

"Wh-Why d-did you get tickets for th-this one...?"

Miku took a noisy sip of her gigantic soda. "Ahh!" she sighed with satisfaction. As she answered, she dug her hand into the enormous bucket of popcorn on her lap. "Well, I know you don't like chick flicks, and there's no good movies out for any other genre. Plus, I've wanted to see this one for a while!" She shoved the handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"B-B-But why...?"

"Why?" Miku asked, her mouth still full. "To the popcorn or the movie?"

"Th-The m-m-movie..."

"Oh." Swallowing, the tealette replied happily, "Well, I heard it was really good! Rin-chan and Len-kun both didn't wanna see it, which was kinda weird; they're usually such horror fans, y'know? Well, Rin-chan is, anyway; Len-kun just gets dragged into it." Her smile was bright enough to light up the theater as she chirped, "Heard it was so scary that a lotta people fainted from watching it, and they had to ban it from some theaters! It's _gotta_ be good if it can get that kinda reaction, right?"

Luka's only response was an unintelligible whimper that Miku seemed oblivious to. This was going to suck...

* * *

><p>"Y'see," a blonde girl a few rows back explained to another beside her, not removing her eyes from the two heads of pink and teal in her line of sight, "Luka is really bad with horror stuff. I mean <em>really<em> bad. Like, this one time in junior high, we were all watching some horror movie marathon over at Meiko's place, right? Most of them sucked, and we were just watching them cuz they were so campy that it was funny. Well, there I was thinking we'd all laughed our asses off at 'em, then in the middle of the night, Luka crawls into my sleeping bag, clinging for dear life!" Lily chuckled, grinning widely at the fond memory. It was so rare to see Luka be completely vulnerable these days, but one of the few things that would easily turn the trick was anything horror-related. "She smacks me a good one every time her birthday or Christmas comes along, cuz I always give her a horror game of some kind. _So_ worth it though~ No one would ever guess our dear Ice Princess was such a coward~"

Neru sighed as her older companion went into a fit of low, sinister laughter, complete with rubbing her hands together with wicked glee. She'd always known Lily-senpai had sadistic tendencies, but she didn't think she could be quite this bad... Shaking her head, she contented herself with clicking away on her cell phone. Well, there was nothing she could do but wait it out when Lily went into paparazzi mode, so she figured she could at least keep herself occupied.

"Oi, Neru-chii."

"Yes?" Click, click, click, click, click.

"You ever been in a movie theater before?" Curious.

"Not really. I usually just stream movies at home. Why?" Click, click, click, click, click.

"Well... I'm gonna tell you this cuz it seems you don't know but... "

The hesitant manner of speaking _should_ have alerted her, but it didn't, as Neru replied with another absent, "Hm?" Click, click, click, click, click.

Awkwardly, Lily finished, "Er... you can't have your cell phone out while you're watching the movie."

Click, click, click... click... ...click...

...Click...

...

A suddenly heavy silence hung between the two girls. Slowly, Neru raised a blank stare up to her senpai's serious face. The oppressive silence continued as they looked at each other. Suddenly, the younger blonde began to laugh.

"Oh, senpai! You're such a kidder! You actually had me going there! I can't have my cell phone out while watching a movie, huh? That was a good one! Ahaha!"

She continued to laugh, the sound becoming increasingly forced as she saw that Lily wasn't joining in. Instead, her expression remained as grave as if she were a surgeon who was telling her that she had royally screwed up her operation and accidentally replaced her heart with a baked potato and that she had five seconds to live. Neru's hopeful smile (which radiated a healthy dose of "Oh God, please tell me you're kidding") fought hard to stay on her face.

"You're... not kidding... are you?"

Lily did not directly respond. Instead, she looked at the screen out of the corners of her eyes and jerked her head in its direction. Slowly, eyes filled with dread, she looked at the screen. There, Akita Neru encountered the most terrifying words she had ever encountered in her young life.

"Please be considerate to others and turn off your cell phone!"

The pink heart at the end of that sentence was the scariest thing Neru had ever seen in her life. A cold sweat broke out on her brow as she swallowed hard. Her gaze lowered down to her cell phone, then up at the message. Her gaze went back down to her cell phone, her lower lip beginning to tremble as horror slowly crept upon her features. She turned a desperate, pleading gaze at her senpai, who could only shake her head sadly in response. Neru looked down at her phone, the item in question trembling in her grasp. But after several long moments, she swallowed hard and summoned up her courage. She could do this... She could do this...

Putting on a brave face, Neru turned off her phone, every nerve in her body screaming at her to desist in this nonsense immediately, and shakily replaced it into her purse. She let out a shuddering breath as she leaned back in her seat, hands tightly clutching the arms of her seat. Lily pet her hair comfortingly.

"You're a brave girl, Neru-chii."

* * *

><p>The large bucket of popcorn Miku had been scarfing down had long since gone empty, and her immense drink was now only a few precious drops of soda mixed with an irritatingly generous helping of water courtesy of melted ice cubes. The movie thus far was a huge disappointment. Plot was crap, characters were crap... just about everything was crap. It was pretty much just a typical splatter film, and she could imagine that most of the budget had probably gone towards the gallons of fake blood they needed to use each take. It sure as hell couldn't have been spent on the actors...<p>

Nevertheless, even though it really wasn't a very good movie at all, Miku was enjoying herself. Her big, cheesy grin widened as she cast a glance over at the pink-haired girl sitting beside her. In contrast to her usual coldly composed manner, Luka was cowering in her seat. Luka had a death grip on her arm, and had remained there for pretty much the entire running time, shaking like a leaf and whimpering at every scene, except for the "horror" scenes, whereupon she began screaming, burying her face deeper into Miku's sleeve. This was so rare! It was a shame she couldn't use her camera in here! Oh well... she'd at least amuse herself by teasing her amid this rare lack of composure.

"It's not very scary at all, is it, senpai?" Miku remarked, a playful Cheshire Cat grin on her face.

"N-N-No, no, it isn't..." Luka whimpered fearfully. "N-Not at all!"

_Kyaa~ so cute~!_Miku bit her lip to keep from squealing. _I simply have to tease her more~~~!_

It was very well possible that she would end up paying for this, given her intimate familiarity with Megurine Luka's violent tendencies, but even the part of her that warned her not to get too carried away knew that it would be worth every last bit of damage she suffered. And so with this thought in mind, she charged forth to make the most of this rare opportunity.

"Oh~? Senpai, you aren't even watching the movie," she remarked, innocently feigning ignorance.

Luka continued cowering in her seat, practically curled up into a ball as she stammered, "Y-Y-Yes, I am...!"

"But your eyes are closed~" Syrupy sweet tone.

"Th-They're closed, b-b-but I'm still watching...!"

"Onee-chan? What are you doing?" one of the characters on screen asked fearfully. "Onee-chan? Onee-chan...? _ONEE-CHAN!_"

Coinciding with the shriek that the voice had built up to was a horrific splattering noise, along with a psychotic voice screaming with laughter. Luka cried out again, refusing to look at the screen and trying to shut out all the sound effects while maintaining her death grip on Miku's arm. While it was already nice feeling her body against hers, Miku's face now had a dreamy expression, feeling her senpai's considerable assets pressed against her arm. She shivered with delight as they pressed further against her.

"Ehehe~~~" A trickle of blood spilled out of her nose at the same time as her perverted old man chuckle, a tiny trickle of drool sneaking out the corner of her mouth.

Oh, how Miku loved scary movies~

* * *

><p>While this was going on, two blondes a few rows back had absolutely no time to pay attention to either the movie, or the antics of the two girls they had come stalking (or at least, that one of them had come stalking.)<p>

"_No!"_ Neru wailed as her prize was snatched from her grip. Her hands desperately reached for her cell phone as Lily held her at bay with one hand, holding the phone away with the other. "Please! I-I need it! S-Senpai, please!"

"No, Neru-chii," Lily said firmly. "That's the third time you've tried to turn your phone back on! You're obviously not strong enough to leave it in your purse on your own, so you leave me no choice."

As the younger girl watched in open-mouthed horror, her phone was placed into Lily's purse and then securely zipped shut. To Neru's ears, the sealing was about as loud as a heavy steel door slamming shut. Her still-outstretched hands twitched uselessly, soft whimpers falling from her lips as her eyes watered. "S-Senpai... you..." Sniffle. "You... bully..."

"I'm sorry, Neru-chii," Lily replied in a soft, soothing voice, genuinely feeling bad when she saw tears began to leak out of those usually indifferent gold eyes. "But this is for your own good."

Neru brought her trembling arms back to her, her traumatized expression clearly stating that she was having trouble seeing how this was for her own good. Then, Neru began to do what any ordinary, sensible person would have done in her shoes.

She began hyperventilating.

Lily stared at her in worry as Neru's breathing quickened, the girl in a state of obvious panic. There didn't seem to be any end to how much faster she'd breathe either... Thinking quickly, Lily emptied the unpopped kernels in her popcorn bag, cursing under her breath all the while, and handed it to the younger girl. No reaction, just faster breathing.

Pursing her lips, the older girl held the bag over Neru's mouth and nose. "C'mon, Neru-chii, work with me here. You gotta listen to me. Okay? Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Neru was still in a state of panic, but her eyes had focused on her senpai's and she nodded shakily, still hyperventilating.

Lily nodded back. "Alright. Now, I need you to breathe, Neru-chii. C'mon, work with me, sweetie. Breathe. You need to slow down, okay? C'mon, Neru-chii, you need to listen to me!"

The other members of the audience were absolutely no help during this crisis. Most of them had moved to other seats during the commotion and there was a curiously empty zone around the two blondes.

* * *

><p>Luka never thought she'd be so happy to see daylight again. She sighed wearily upon exiting the theater, basking in the warm light and letting it slowly soothe her frazzled nerves, which had been subjected to two hours of nonstop torture.<p>

"You alright now, senpai?"

The pinkette glanced to her left to see Miku, who had just returned from throwing away her popcorn bucket that had been filled to the brim with tissue balls drenched in drool and blood. The tealette's blue-green eyes were looking up at her with a combination of mirth, and also some genuine concern. Luka scowled faintly, averting her eyes as she bit out, "Y-Yes, I'm fine."

Miku's eyes sparkled. "Uwaa~ Senpai's stammering is sooo cute~~~!" She snuggled up to her, squealing, "I wanna take you home~~!"

No sooner had she finished her sentence than Miku's face was pushed away by Luka's hand. For her part, Luka scowled darkly, but did not deign to look in Miku's direction. "Please do not say such things in public, Hatsune-san," she said in a clipped tone. Her voice had managed to find its usual chilly edge along with her composure, causing her to sound much more like the Ice Princess that Yamaha High School was used to rather than the frightened girl who had shrieked in terror at pretty much every scene not too long ago.

"Ehe~ Sowwy," Miku chirped, apparently unfazed by her uncomfortable position. "Got a little carried away~"

"Yes, I can see that," Luka bit out. She shook her head lightly as she withdrew her hand to her side.

_Stupid girl._

Her throat felt a little raw from all the screaming she'd done during the movie though. She sighed, feeling more than a little ashamed of herself. She was seventeen years old now; how could she allow something as simple as horror movies always reduce her to a terror-stricken child again? It was just a good thing Lily wasn't here... That she-devil would have tortured her throughout the day with her creepily accurate imitations of sound effects from the movie they'd watched, delighting in Luka's frightened reactions. It wouldn't matter how many times she got death-glared, punched, karate-chopped, slapped with a fish, or any of Luka's other various punishments; so long as Lily was able to croak out a sound, she would somehow manage to do that to her. So, really, she supposed it was good fortune that she saw this movie with Miku instead of Lily, or the rest of their friends.

"Ne, senpai, what say we get something to eat?" Miku suggested. She smiled cheekily, a teasing gleam in her eye as she continued in a sweetly innocent tone, "You must be hungry after all that screaming you did, after all~ Maybe some food will calm you down?"

Luka bristled, glaring daggers at the younger girl. Food to calm her down? The thought filled her with outrage. The nerve of this girl! Just what did she think she was, some kind of child that could be comforted by something as simple and mundane as food? She turned toward her, fists planted on her hips as she glowered at the cheeky face that gazed back at her. "Now, see here, Hatsune-sa-"

That was as far as Luka's rant went before her stomach chipped in its two bits. She froze, her face practically wearing a blinking neon sign that proudly proclaimed, "BUSTED!" Miku blinked, her head tipping to the side as she looked down at Luka's stomach. The growling had been so loud that a few people walking close by had heard too, all of them politely trying to keep in their laughter as they bit down on their lower lips, though a few snickers and chortles did manage to escape. Seeing this, the pinkette flushed a bright red, turning her head aside as she quickly folded her arms over her abdomen.

"W-Well, I suppose I am a _little_ hungry," she spat hurriedly. Her usually fierce scowl was rendered completely ineffective by her blush. "Th-This is when I usually eat lunch anyway, so it's only natural! My body is just used to eating at this hour! That's all!"

"Oh~? Is that right~?" Miku's tone was all innocent curiosity.

"Yes, it is right!" Luka snapped. "S-So let's hurry up and eat something! And after subjecting me to that horrible movie (which was completely not scary at all, I might add!), I demand that you make it up to me by paying for my meal!"

Miku grinned, saluting energetically as she said, "Roger that! I'd be more than happy to do so, senpai!"

* * *

><p>"Uhh..." Neru whirred dizzily.<p>

"You alright now, Neru-chii?" Lily was hauling her out of the theater, one of the younger girl's arms slung over her shoulder.

The only response was an unintelligible groan. A sweatdrop rolled down Lily's head, figuring that would have to do. She fumbled through the purse slung over her left shoulder until she was able to fish out the captive cell phone. Turning it back on, she held it out. "Here you-"

Lily blinked. One moment, she'd been holding Neru and the phone. The next, Neru had it in her hands, impatiently waiting for the phone to reactivate itself. Another sweatdrop rolled down Lily's head as she finished, "...Go."

Neru was hardly paying attention, something that could be judged from the sheer intensity of focus she directed toward the screen. It wasn't until the main menu popped up that she finally breathed a sigh of relief, her expression finally one of peace. Lily shook her head. "You're addicted to that thing, y'know that, right?"

"It's not an addiction!" Neru snapped irritably. "It just calms me down, that's all!"

"Riiight... Anyways, now that you're feeling better, let's get a move on!"

* * *

><p>She was trying to focus on eating her burger, but those blue-green eyes across from her were being very distracting. While ordinarily, one might think this was her being romantic, it was hardly the case at this moment. The teal eyes across from her had been unashamedly devouring her practically since the moment they had sat down... Luka tried to ignore her and took another bite of her food, managing to chew in such a refined and elegant manner that one could have thought that burgers and fries were commonplace at high-class dinner parties. Miku continued to stare at her, occasionally chewing on a fry or taking a sip of her drink. Underneath the table, Miku's feet occasionally grazed hers as they kicked absently, their owner lost in her dreamy haze, or whatever it was she was looking at her with. It didn't feel like her usual perverted leer, since those could be noticed from the fact that Hatsune Miku was utterly incapable of keeping that gaze up for more than three seconds at a time without A) drooling, B) suffering a nosebleed, C) laughing that stupid, perverted "Ehehe~" laugh of hers, or D) any combination of the above. Luka was glad there was no way that she could truly be violated through sight alone... The idea of being left in a corner naked and sobbing while the tealette sat nearby nonchalantly smoking a cigarette did <em>not<em> appeal to her in the least.

Still... she just would _not_ stop looking at her. Luka's left eye twitched, a vein starting to throb visibly at her temple. She sipped her drink. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the weight of that stare. More than likely, she could be sitting across town from that stare, and as long as the tealette had access to a telescope, she would have been able to feel this gaze! Finally unable to take anymore, she brought her drink down onto the table hard.

Her icy blue eyes met Miku's teal ones as she hissed, "Is there something on my face, Hatsune-san?"

"Nah," she replied absently. Her eyes were clearly entranced, an almost dreamy quality within their depths. "I just like looking at you, that's all. After all, you're really pretty to look at, senpai!"

Luka was momentarily taken aback by the comment, but quickly recovered. She turned her eyes out the window and scowled, though there was a faint hint of pink on her cheeks. "Hmph. There you go saying strange things again. You really are an idiot, Hatsune-san."

Still, despite her rude words, her tone was considerably softer than one might expect from her. Luka supposed it was just that she was happy to be complimented. After all, anyone would be happy to be complimented, right? Right. So that was all there was to it. She picked up a few fries to chew on and distract herself. All the while, she remained aware of Hatsune Miku's eyes gazing at hers, a small, contented smile curving her lips. It was a nice change from her usual repertoire of overly cheerful million-watt grins, or lecherous leers. It... well... it made her seem almost cute.

_Almost,_ Luka reminded herself. A faint smile pulled insistently on a corner of her mouth.

_Stupid girl..._

She faced forward again, encountering Miku's face. This was hardly an unusual occurrence, given what she'd been dealing with on a daily basis for about three weeks now. What _was_ unusual, and more than a little unnerving, was that without somehow attracting her notice, Miku had managed to get _right_ up in her face, her big teal eyes creepily fixated on a single point. Luka froze up, staring at the face that was _far_ too close for her to be comfortable.

"Y-Y-Yes...?" she managed to stutter out, her cheeks hot with embarrassment.

The creepy stare did not abate. Instead, the intensity of the gaze only grew. Luka followed the direction of those teal orbs, realizing that Miku was staring intently at her lips. She swallowed hard, and this action only seemed to draw Miku nearer, as she had her hands placed on the table and had bent forward to get an _even_ closer look.

"Damn..." Miku whispered in a husky voice. "Your lips are just... perfect."

Luka facefaulted as the tealette drew even nearer... Said tealette was so fixated that she didn't even notice, and was oblivious to the sudden chill surrounding her.

"The shape... the color..." Miku whispered in an awed tone of voice. She was oblivious to the odd stares that she was receiving from the rest of the restaurant's patrons, so mesmerized was she by her senpai's lips. "They're beautiful... I wonder... what they feel like..."

She was brought up short when she suddenly felt a delicate touch on her cheek. Miku's eyes lifted, and she was unable to suppress a soft gasp at what she saw. In the pale blue orbs that she beheld was the softest look she had ever seen in Megurine Luka's eyes... and it was directed at her. A soft blush heated her cheeks as she whispered softly, "Senpai...?"

A gentle smile curved Luka's shapely pink lips, as she whispered back, "Hatsune-san..."

Miku leaned forward, slowly, hesitantly. Her eyes slowly began to close, hardly daring to hope... Could it... Could it be...?

_WHACK!_

In the next moment, Hatsune Miku was seeing stars. Unfortunately, it was not because the kiss of the Ice Princess Megurine Luka was so amazing it had left her seeing stars, but more because the fist of the Ice Princess Megurine Luka had ambushed her and knocked her to the floor. So, sadly, those stars were from being knocked to the floor, senseless. She groaned in pain from her position crumpled on the floor, too dizzy to register her senpai's dismissive "Hmph" as she returned to her meal, ignoring the various onlookers as they all simultaneously sweatdropped then returned to their own meals. A few people were also grumbling under their breaths in disappointment, namely a certain blonde girl who was sitting a sizeable distance away and had been taking photos.

"Dammit, Luka," Lily snarled under her breath. "Can't you stop being a frigid, violent bitch for two seconds in your life? Geez..."

"You're just mad you couldn't get a picture of them kissing," Neru pointed out flatly, eyes concentrated on her phone (but while she would never admit to it, she'd been watching hopefully too up until Luka had executed her version of a Falcon Punch on Miku).

"Yes, I am!" Lily huffed. "I could've made _bank_ off something like that! Geez... some people have no consideration for others..."

"And the pot calls the kettle black..." Neru murmured.

The older blonde was about to retort when she took note of something... interesting. She blinked. Despite the coldly indifferent attitude she displayed to Miku's current predicament, there was... Lily grinned evilly.

"Aha~ So her royal iciness is indeed capable of blushing~" she commented in a low sing-song. Snapshot. She cackled with glee as she continued taking pictures.

* * *

><p>Luka tried to calm down her rapidly thudding heart as she sipped her drink. In the back of her head, a nagging, irritating voice kept second-guessing her.<p>

"Should've let her do it," it said. "Who knows? It might've been pretty good~"

_Absolutely not,_ she thought as firmly as she could. _There is no way I will ever do that. No chance in Hell._

She cast a quick glance at Miku, who had begun to recover from her dizzy spell, shaking her head to clear the rest of whatever might be in that cavern she called a skull. Luka averted her eyes quickly, feeling her cheeks warm again as she remembered the feeling of Miku's moist breath against her lips, and the intensity of her eyes... She forced herself to scowl.

_I will never be yours, Hatsune Miku._

* * *

><p>It was still only afternoon by the time they got out of the restaurant, which was how Miku managed to drag Luka along to an arcade. There wasn't any point in resisting, she knew. The little pest had obviously already had her mind set on it; refusal would have only resulted in an endless stream of whining until Luka either finally snapped and killed her, or finally relented and allowed herself to be dragged along. Both were unsavory choices, but there was no point in already having a murder on her criminal record when she was still only a high school student. And besides, playing games was far less harmful than some of the horror scenarios that Luka had imagined... So altogether, there was no harm in humoring her.<p>

But truthfully, Luka found it at least a little worrisome how _eager_ the tealette seemed to be. They were just going to an arcade... right? Like... in Miku-speak, "arcade" would just mean "arcade", also called a "game center"... right? She hoped she hadn't just unwittingly agreed to go to a love hotel with her or something (especially since Meiko had told her offhandedly that there were some in the area that didn't check for IDs...). Luka shuddered visibly at the thought, causing her hostess/captor to glance at her curiously.

"What's up, senpai?"

_Oh, I was just wondering where __**exactly **__you're taking me, you being quite possibly the biggest pervert I know and all (though I suppose Gumi might be tied with you). See, I was kinda thinking up these horror scenarios of you taking me against my will in a love hotel that doesn't check for IDs; you wouldn't happen to know any, would you? Oh, you do? Oh dear, that means I'm in a bit of a predicament. Do you think maybe we could go clothes shopping first then? Because I figure if you're about to tear off my clothes and rape me, I'd like to purchase some new clothes. Y'know, so I don't have to sit there completely naked while you smugly smoke a cigarette in a corner? Do you smoke, by any chance?_

Yeah. Luka didn't think that was exactly safe to say, so she settled for a, "Nothing."

Miku accepted this with a shrug. Soon enough, Luka's worst fears were put to rest as she saw that they were indeed standing in front of an arcade. She looked over at the tealette, who merely smiled back and jerked her head toward the game center, which Luka obliged with a nod. It had been a while since she'd been able to visit one of these places, and honestly, she felt herself getting at least a little bit excited. She looked around at the various games, eyeing all of them with barely restrained eagerness.

"Here we go!" Miku proclaimed suddenly.

Luka flinched, regaining her composure and trying desperately not to look like she'd been wanting to play all of the games simultaneously (which she had). With as much indifference as she could muster, she managed to say, "Wh-What? What is it?"

She saw that they'd stopped in front of one of the shooter games, a zombie-themed one, to be exact. Miku grinned broadly at her. "I figure you'd want some revenge, seeing how much you'd been screaming in the theater~"

Luka flushed with embarrassment. She shouted, "I-I wasn't screaming because I was scared! I was... just indulging in the atmosphere! That's all! It's like a roller coaster; you're supposed to scream! Otherwise I wouldn't; I find screaming to be very uncouth!"

"If you say so~" Miku sang. She inserted enough coins for the both of them. "C'mon! Zombies don't kill themselves, y'know!"

Luka shrugged and picked up her own gun. What the hell, why not? They were here anyway, and besides, Miku had been kind enough to shell out for her too. She held the gun casually at her side, not wanting her arm to tire out too early, and beside her, Miku did the same. They waited for the cutscene of their two protagonists gaping at the apparent zombie apocalypse that had come upon them. Predictably enough, once the screen moved over, a zombie began stumbling towards them. Luka raised her gun, aiming right for the head...

...Well. It used to be a head anyway.

Luka blinked before looking over to Miku. The tealette was smirking proudly, having unloaded her whole clip on the zombie's head with a speed that should probably have been impossible for a human (but then, Japanese gamers aren't exactly human to begin with). She gazed over at the look of astonishment on the older girl's face and offered a smile that was half-cuteness, half-challenge.

"I'm sorry, senpai," she said sweetly, "Was that yours?"

Luka's ice-blue eyes stared blankly at her before narrowing, responding to the taunting innocence in Miku's smile with a smirk of her own. Without looking at the screen, she raised her gun and pulled the trigger in rapid succession. Miku glanced at the screen, her smile quickly wiped off her face as she stared at the two shredded zombies on the screen, along with a survivor running up to Luka's side of the screen and granting her an extra life in gratitude for saving him. Her teal gaze went back over to the pinkette, whose smirk had grown considerably smugger at her astonishment.

"Don't get so cocky," the pinkette said.

A feral grin curled Miku's mouth. "Oho... this may be more fun than I'd thought. Here I thought I'd be able to show off a bit but... looks like I'm gonna have to get serious!" She jerked her head to the side, causing a brief creaking noise, and cracked her knuckles. "Bring it on!"

It apparently had escaped both girls that they were playing a cooperative game.

* * *

><p>"Yatta!" Miku cried in triumph.<p>

Luka scowled. "Tch."

The final boss had gone down in a fiery ruin, and the world (or what was left of it) had been saved from a zombie apocalypse, thanks to the two protagonists and the two girls playing them. But when the final score was displayed, Miku had indeed managed to pull ahead... and out of the millions of points that they'd racked up, it had come down to only one point. One. Lousy. Point. Luka's shoulders slumped in defeat. That damn brat... She'd always managed to sneak in points when she least expected it...

_Oh well,_ Luka thought with a mental shrug. _Can't win them all, I guess..._

"So!" Miku chirped beside her. "What should we play next?"

* * *

><p>This was the first time Luka had ever had a losing streak quite this bad before. No matter what game they played, Miku always managed to edge her out. Though Luka knew she was pretty good at these games, it seemed that Miku was just one whit better. And though it was very irritating to Luka's competitive side, at the same time, she was impressed. The game they'd played with their last few coins had been the new fighting game the arcade had gotten, and their battles had attracted a sizeable crowd (much to the howling dismay of a nosy blonde who had been unable to take anymore pictures of the two as a result). They were on their way home now, the rapidly cooling air heralding the coming of evening.<p>

"Good games, Luka-senpai! You're really good at those, aren't you?"

Luka shrugged, though there was a tug of amusement on a corner of her mouth. "I have a bit of a competitive streak," she admitted. "So I actually rather enjoy games like these."

"You're not the type that trash talks and rubs defeat in other people's faces though, I notice," Miku remarked.

"I don't see a point to doing that. Winning is enough for me."

Miku smiled at her. "That's just like you, senpai."

Out of the corner of her eye, Luka could see the smile, but more than that, she could see the look in the younger girl's teal orbs. There was a very soft look in them that made Luka feel nervous, but not in the same way that her lecherous gazes did. Those always made Luka feel like staying in its line of sight for too long would end up tearing her clothes right off of her body. This one, it... She struggled to find words to describe how this one made her feel. This was the first time Hatsune Miku had given her this look. There was something like it back at the restaurant, but not to this extent... It bothered her, but not in a way that made her want to sock her in the face. It was... was... Luka gave up. She'd think on it later.

Presently, she decided to continue their conversation, saying, "I found your playstyle interesting."

Miku grinned. "Ah, it's how I've always been. I'll try for a killing blow early, of course, but it usually doesn't work, especially not if it's a fight worth winning. So I like to just chip away at my opponent's defenses. Y'know, whittle them down, soften them up, stuff like that."

"But you didn't even try to finish me then," Luka pointed out. Miku had fought her with an incredibly aggressive playstyle that she wasn't used to dealing with. She was at once aggressive and audacious, but not stupid, and she'd never been daunted by any of the setbacks she'd endured from Luka's counterattacks. All of her hounding had eventually led to Luka making mistakes during the fights.

The tealette replied cheerfully, "Well, because when you're off-balance, you get even more defensive. So I waited for you to come to me. I faked a few times to try to bait you. Then..."

She did not finish, instead leaving off with a shrug as if to say "That's that." Luka nodded thoughtfully. Miku turned her gaze forward, lacing her fingers behind her head as she stretched and enjoyed the cool evening air as she walked beside her senpai. Her eyes went out of focus with thought as she smiled gently. "But y'know... For me, usually it's just enough for my opponent to acknowledge me."

"But sometimes it's not enough?" Luka asked.

"Un. Sometimes..." Miku grinned jauntily as she looked at her. "Well... I don't often do it, but sometimes, I play to win. When I do, I don't give up until I've gotten what I want~"

Again, there was that _something_ in Miku's eyes that made Luka feel nervous... She broke their gaze to face forward, noting that the evening air must have been colder than she thought. Her cheeks felt strangely warm...

* * *

><p>"Well, I guess that's that," Lily sulked. There was no way in hell she was shelling out for a ticket on the train just to see if their date would go any further, and she sincerely doubted it would.<p>

"You sound disappointed, senpai," Neru remarked dryly.

"Disappointed? Eh... I guess. But it's not like I could've published anything anyway," Lily replied, shrugging. Jerking her head in the other direction (knowing that the younger girl would sense it despite keeping her eyes glued to her cell phone), she said, "C'mon, Neru-chii. I'll walk ya home; it's the least I can do for making you put up with me today."

Neru shrugged offhandedly. "I didn't mind." It sure beat the hell out of lying on her bed and tapping away on her cell phone all day. Sure, she would be tapping away on her cell phone regardless (it was _not_ an addiction, dammit), but hanging out with Masuda Lily, she reflected, was almost always an interesting experience. "I should thank you for inviting me out, actually."

Lily rubbed her head affectionately, grinning. "You're a good kid, Neru-chii, for putting up with a troublesome senpai like me."

They began to walk together, Lily putting her hands into her pockets and keeping an eye out for her underclassman's path. Sure, Akita Neru somehow managed to find her way around without slamming into things despite keeping her eyes trained on her phone all day long, but it was still a senpai's duty to look out for their underclassmen. She looked up at some of the signs that had come to life with the sun's exit for the day. Miku and Luka had seemed to be talking about something as they walked together. She wondered what they'd talked about... Even though she hadn't been able to get a close look at the pinkette all day, she seemed to have enjoyed herself. That was definitely good, Lily thought. She knew Luka didn't like interacting with people outside of the ones she already knew, so for her to have actually enjoyed herself while hanging out with Hatsune Miku was a good sign. And from what she saw, the tealette had been remarkably well behaved today. Given her perverted streak, and Luka's violent reactions, she'd fully expected Miku to be hospitalized before the end, but... Hm, did she dare say that Miku had made progress today? She grinned happily at the thought.

Lily's train of thought was brought up short by the realization that Neru was no longer with her. She turned around to see the younger girl staring down at her cell phone. While this was not an unusual occurrence, what was strange was her expression. Her face was a mask of pure, unadulterated shock. How very curious... Stepping closer, Lily asked, "Oi, Neru-chii? You okay? What's up?"

Neru swallowed hard as she looked up at her. "S-S-Senpai..." Shakily, she turned the phone in her hands so that Lily could see the screen. Apparently, Neru had received a text message from Miku. Blinking, the older girl leaned forward to take a... look... She gaped at the message, time-stamped just under a minute ago.

"Neru-chan, Neru-chan! ^_^ Tell Lily-senpai to send me whatever pics she got of us today! If she does, I promise I won't tell Luka-senpai that you guys were tailing us! :D"

"She... She _knew?_" Lily gasped in disbelief. This whole time... Miku had _let_ them follow the two around?

The two girls screamed in surprise as the cell phone rang again, playing Neru's ring tone for text messages. This message was also from Hatsune Miku.

"The pics! I wants the pics and I wants them nao! Or else! Thankies! ^_^b"

Lily swallowed hard. Oh, the horrors Luka would visit upon her if she knew that Lily had been tailing them... She was going to be meeting up with Luka tomorrow to hang out with the rest of their friends... and she would have preferred being able to go home on her own two feet rather than in a body bag...

"W-Well... guess I'm sending some pics tonight!" Lily tittered nervously. Beside her, Neru nodded, still obviously unnerved.

"S-Senpai...?"

"Yeah?"

"Er... with all due respect, senpai... I don't think you should tail them on dates anymore..."

"Ahaha... Yeah... that sounds good..."

* * *

><p>Luka tossed fitfully in her bed before settling onto her back. She sighed, staring up at her darkened ceiling. And this was yet another reason why she hated anything horror... Anytime she was forced to endure something horror (except for zombie shooters, since she didn't really think of those as horror), she would have trouble falling asleep that night. She closed her eyes, shaking her head. She was seventeen years old now... why in the hell did she still have to act like a child sometimes? But even as she thought this, she couldn't help it. She'd always been such a coward with horror. On nights like these, she would always require comfort before she could actually fall asleep, something that Lily never let her forget, seeing how the first horror movie night marathon she'd had with her then-new friends, she'd ended up burying her face into Lily's back and trembling fearfully until she fell asleep...<p>

She sure as _hell_ was way too old to crawl into her parents' bed... and her mom would probably have been as bad as Lily about teasing her about it. Rolling over, Luka looked over at the pink cell phone innocently sitting on her nightstand. Perhaps she could call someone? But who? A name instantly popped into her head, but she shook her head violently.

Hell no.

No way.

...But who else could she talk to? Lily? No, she was probably out of the question... She didn't think she'd be able to stand the blonde being able to tease her with impunity, seeing how she wasn't in range to punch. Gakupo had said he would be spending time with Gumi today (translation: trying to keep his sister from venturing into adult entertainment stores and eventually getting herself thrown out for loudly complaining about the lack of merchandise), so he would probably be exhausted by now; in other words, it'd be unfair to keep him up any longer than he could stand to be. She ticked down the list of her friends, but didn't think she wanted to call any of them over this. Haku would have been of no help, Dell was about as comforting as a gargoyle statue in an abandoned graveyard, and Kaito and Meiko...

...Well...

She'd called Meiko once in the middle of a Saturday night to confirm some plans for the next day. Unfortunately for Luka, Meiko had been with Kaito, and they'd been... ah... _busy._

_Really_...

_**B**__**usy...**_

She'd had trouble hanging up too, so a horrified Luka had been forced to hurriedly disconnect herself, or get more insight than she ever wanted about the bedroom life of two of her friends.

So she was out of options. It was either suck it up and end up with bloodshot eyes the next day from lack of sleep, or make the goddamn call... And honestly, Luka decided, she would rather have her sleep. She huffed before pressing the suddenly ominous button with a green phone icon. She rested her head on the pillow, holding the phone next to her ear. One ring passed. A second one followed. She narrowed her eyes as a third one passed. Honestly! What was taking so long? One should pick up the phone properly when it was ringing!

In the middle of a fourth ring, the line picked up. "Mm... Hello?" the familiar voice answered sleepily.

"It's about time, Hatsune-san!" Luka huffed.

The sleepy voice audibly perked up, and she could hear the confusion as the tealette asked, "Senpai? What's up?"

"I..." Luka trailed off, suddenly realizing how stupid she was about to sound if she told her the real reason. A stricken expression that she was thankful the tealette wouldn't be able to see crossed her face. Scowling, she muttered, "I... uhh... I can't sleep."

Silence. A chill went up Luka's spine, _feeling_ the perverted leer on the other line rather than seeing it. "Oh my... So you're _that_ type, senpai? Ehehe~ Well, I may not be beside you, but I guess being woken up for phone sex is just as good~"

Luka's face tried to turn twenty different shades of red simultaneously while her expression was unable to decide whether it was more shocked or horrified. "_Excuse me!_" she screeched indignantly. "I would _never_ call the likes of you for something so... so... _vulgar!_ You... Your perverted ways have officially rotted whatever may be left of your brain, Hatsune-san! You-"

"Oh, senpai~ Not so loud~ You'll wake the neighbors~"

The suggestive purr in her voice would have been indicative enough for anyone who had only heard that portion of the conversation. Eye twitching, Luka hissed, "It was a mistake to call you. Good night, Hatsune-san."

"Ack, wait, wait! I'm sorry, I was just messing with you, Luka-senpai!" Miku giggled a little as Luka sighed, rolling her eyes. "But no, really, why'd you call? It's... Wow, it's two AM. Is everything okay?"

"Um... y-yes. Everything's fine..." All the venom drained out of Luka's voice in an instant. "I just..."

"Hm?"

"I... honestly couldn't fall asleep."

A pause. Then...

"Aww..." Miku cooed. "Was poor senpai that scared by the horror movie we saw~?"

It was a damn good thing this was a phone conversation, because Luka's face clearly read "BUSTED!" Nevertheless, she barked, "_Of course not!_ Wh-Who would get scared by something as ch-childish and lame as what we were forced to watch! I-I-In fact, I was so bored that I can't fall asleep! Yes! It was so bad that I can't help but think on how bad it was, so I'm having troubles falling asleep!"

"Oh?" Miku's tone suggested that she didn't entirely believe her, but was going to let her slide all the same. "Have you tried counting sheep?"

The answer to that was no. In fact, Luka hadn't really tried many things to get herself to fall asleep. They usually didn't work, but that aside, she'd... It was hard to explain. In fact, she didn't know why Miku had come to mind at all. Perhaps because she'd pretty much become an attachment in her life, like it or not. But that was irrelevant, she thought, forcibly thrusting any further ponderings on this subject to the side. Instead, she spat, "It was your fault that I was subjected to that dreadfully horrible movie (which was totally not scary at all, mind you!)! S-So you better take responsibility and talk to me until I fall asleep!"

The amusement this generated was strong enough that Luka could practically feel it oozing through the other line. But the tealette thankfully did not decide to say anything further on the topic. "Fine by me," Miku said happily. "I wanted to hear the melodic sound of your lovely voice anyway~"

Luka rolled her eyes. "There you go, saying such strange things again."

"It's just the truth." Miku's tone was unfazed by the dreary note in Luka's. "You've got a beautiful voice. It's just one among your many... charms~"

The pinkette's face remained in a very unimpressed mask, especially hearing the vaguely lecherous note that had entered Miku's voice at the end. "Ah, is that so?" As unimpressed as her expression.

"Yup!" As unfazed as always.

_Stupid girl._

"There's a lotta things I like about you, senpai!" Miku chirped.

"And I'm sure my well-developed curves have absolutely nothing to do with it." Though Luka's voice was still deadpan, there was an icy edge to it.

"Oh, I'm not gonna deny that. You're really pretty to look at, senpai." Miku was oblivious to the frigid tone, or if she was aware, ignored it. "But there's more than that, of course. I like my cute Luka-senpai better than the Ice Princess image, to be honest~"

It was a rather cute comment perhaps, but there was something in it that the older girl would _not_ accept.

"_Your_ Luka-senpai?" Luka raised an eyebrow, her tone hardening with outrage at the tealette's implication.

"Whoops. Freudian slip?" Her eyes narrowed as she pictured Miku sticking her tongue out cutely, the unapologetic grin on her face. How irritating. Luka pursed her lips before speaking.

"I will make one thing absolutely clear to you, Hatsune-san," the pinkette said, her aura and tone cold enough to warrant earning the Ice Princess title all over again. "I have no problem with being your friend. But that is the limit of my tolerance. I will _never_ be yours, Hatsune-san."

"You're cute even when you get cold like this, did you know that?"

Miku's cheeky grin, from the sounds of it, hadn't died in the least... _Stupid girl._ Luka decided to give it a rest. Why did she even call this maniac anyway? Oh well, too late now... and it'd be rude to hang up on her after being the one to call her. The conversation ended up turning more normal from there, mostly Miku chattering away as Luka listened, much like how they did on their walks back from school. Miku talked about her friends, her family, how she used to blow lots of her allowance on video games, grades... Like always, Luka tuned her out, mostly just picking up little bits and pieces her brain would find somewhat fascinating and storing it in her memory. But... there was something strangely comforting about this. As time wore on, she felt her eyelids grow heavier, listening to the happy chattering of the underclassman.

She closed her eyes, resting her head against the pillow and feeling lulled by the sound of the younger girl's happy voice, talking in a softer volume than she normally did. Luka was vaguely aware of Miku calling to her over the phone.

"Senpai? Senpai, did you fall asleep?"

Luka could have responded, but she was feeling too drowsy. Instead, she kept her eyes closed, letting the comfort of her bed and the sheets take her deeper into sle-

She woke up a little bit when she became aware of whispered words in her ear. What the...? It was coming from the phone, so it must have been from Miku. She listened carefully.

"You want to wear black lace panties, you want to wear black lace panties, you want to wear black lace panties, you want to wear black lace pan-"

She was _definitely _drooling right now. Luka scowled. "Pervert," she spat. With that, Luka hung up and set her phone back onto the nightstand.

Rolling over into a comfortable position, she sighed. _Stupid girl._ But... well, she couldn't be too harsh on her. As she let the familiar comfort of her bed welcome her into sleep again, she smiled slightly.

_Thanks, Hatsune-san._

* * *

><p>Across the street, Miku pouted as she set her phone back onto her nightstand.<p>

"Dammit. Well... maybe next time..."

* * *

><p><em>End Chapter 4<em>

* * *

><p>12,000+ words for the story alone... *drops dead* Hope I haven't disappointed too many people with their date; I know it could have been a hell of a lot cuter than I made it, but this was how it ended up, with Lily and Neru almost stealing the show. x_X I was originally gonna have Lily call Neru "Neru-chan" but then I was like "Hm, Lily seems like the type who would call her something other than that..." And that was how "Neru-chii" came to be. Luka the Cowardly Ice Princess was pretty fun to write, I had to say. XP<p>

No review responses this time; this thing's a monstrous size as it is. x_X;;; Even so, I greatly appreciate every last one of them, and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well! 'Til next time! ^_^b


	5. Chapter 5

So I was wrong about things dying down, but at least I managed to get this one up and running... XP A million thanks as usual for the reviews! You're all great!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, which makes me sad, but ah well...

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

* * *

><p>Miku sighed with satisfaction as she polished off the last of her miso soup. "Thanks for the meal!" she sang happily.<p>

"I'm glad you liked it, Miku-chan," Yukari replied with a fond smile at the tealette.

Across the table from Miku, Luka impassively observed the exchange between her mother and the twintailed terror who was, regrettably, their guest. Shaking her head lightly, she took another bite of her rice. As she usually tended to do on weekends, Miku had barged into her home on this otherwise fine Sunday morning and eaten breakfast with her. Granted, she thought with great irritation, it wasn't like she did this without invitation. Yukari genuinely enjoyed having Miku over and certainly didn't mind making an extra portion for her... And after several weeks of this, Luka supposed there was no choice but to get used to it, which she had. Unfortunately, this also came with the package deal of the tealette sitting across from her while they had their meal. Miku was a pretty fast eater, or at least, she was faster than Luka was, and she insisted on sitting across from her and gazing at her after she had finished eating. Baleful glowers did absolutely nothing to deter the younger girl from openly eyeing her, and any scowls ever sent in her direction were only greeted by beaming cheer.

Irritating...

Without looking up at her, Luka bit out flatly, "There's not much point in you invading my house today. I'm headed out with Lily and the others in a bit."

"Oh?" Miku's voice was of mild interest. "Well, that's good! Now I feel less guilty about agreeing to hang out with Rin-chan and the others today~!"

A pink eyebrow raised at this in surprise, and Luka raised her ice-blue eyes to meet with the blue-green stare. "Guilty? Why on earth would you feel guilty?"

Miku grinned cheekily. "Well, if I wasn't around, wouldn't you be lonely~~~?"

Briefly taken aback, Luka quickly recovered to glower darkly, which only seemed to brighten Miku's smile by a few hundred more watts. "Lonely?" she scoffed, her tone every bit as icy as her glare. Continuing in a condescending tone, she sniffed, "Don't flatter yourself, Hatsune-san. I am _quite_ looking forward to a peaceful day without your presence darkening it for once."

Her disdainful words had little, if any, impact on Miku, whose smile only widened as she tipped her head to the side cutely, cupping her face with her hands and her elbows resting on the table. "Oh~?" she asked in a lilt that made the older girl bristle. "Is that so~?"

"Indeed it is!" Luka spat.

She turned back to her food, wrathfully picking up her bowl of miso soup and sipping it down. She purposely raised the bowl enough to obscure her vision of the tealette across from her, a scowl etched on her features as she emanated a frosty aura, all the while feeling the other girl's gaze. Luckily for her, Luka's food was immune to the sudden chill, because otherwise, it would have frozen solid. Unfortunately, Hatsune Miku was also immune to it. Irritated, Luka began to attack her rice, her chopsticks agitatedly stabbing the fluffy white grains before scooping up bites of it.

_The nerve of that girl!_ The Ice Princess fumed inwardly. How insulting for her to think that she held such a high position in Luka's life! _Stupid girl! All those leeks she eats must have rotted her brain from the inside out! Stupid girl!_

"Ah."

Luka looked up, aiming a scowl at Miku as she growled, "What?"

The tealette shot her a toothy grin. "Time for me to go, actually!" she chirped. "I have to meet Rin-chan, Len-kun, and Neru-chan at the station and then we're gonna head over to meet Gumi-chan!"

She rose from her seat and began to head to the door, waving energetically over her shoulder as she called, "Bye, senpai! Have fun! Don't miss me too much~!"

Luka choked briefly at the teasing lift in Miku's final comment. Leaping to her feet, her face red (with anger and outrage, of course), she shouted, "Wh-Who would miss the likes of you! Get lost! I hope you trip on your shoelaces and fall flat on your face, you leek-eating pervert!"

The only response was giggling as Miku fled out the door, shutting it behind her.

"Tch..." Luka glowered fiercely at nothing as she sat down and resumed eating.

The sound of running water at the sink was abruptly silenced. Luka looked up at her mother, watching her dry her hands. "I do have to say though," Yukari remarked, a teasing smile dancing on her lips. "I hope you won't be too lonely without Miku-chan around~"

Luka had been in the middle of sipping at her tea when she'd heard those words. She spat the tea out, coughing violently. After she had recovered, she glared daggers at Yukari, who had, without so much as batting an eyelash at Luka's reaction, now picked up her purse and was ready to head out the door. "Wh-Who would miss that stupid girl?" she raged. "I-I-I'm glad that she's gone, I'll have you know! I mean that! I won't be lonely one bit!"

"Ah, is that right~?" Yukari lilted, nonchalantly slipping on her shoes. "Then that's good! I was afraid you'd miss her~"

Her daughter sputtered, her face flushing. "Miss he- I won't miss her one bit! Not at all! I _definitely_ will not miss her! It is quite peaceful without her, thank you very much! I can't believe you would think I would miss her! Why would I miss that nuisance! You've been hanging around with that idiot so much, it's rotting your brain, kaa-san!"

Yukari giggled. "I'll see you tonight!"

Luka scowled at the door as it clicked shut. With a "Hmph," she sat back down to what was left of her meal. Finally! Some quiet! Now that her mother and Miku had left, the house was peaceful. The only real sounds were from her chopsticks tapping together, or from her quiet sips of her tea or her chewing. It wasn't much different from the days before Hatsune Miku had darkened her life with her presence, so the quiet didn't bother Luka at all. In fact, it was nice to be able to hear herself think for once. She chewed on a piece of grilled fish, staring absently down at her plate. Well... if she had to be honest, the quiet bothered her a little bit, if only because she wasn't used to having it again. She'd spent so much time around a noisy teal-haired girl, after all; it was only natural for such an abrupt transition to be greeted with at least _some_ disquiet. But overall, it was quite nice. No perverted leers, no stupid "Ehehe~" laughs, no gazes burning her clothes off of her back, no annoying high-pitched voices, nothing!

Luka took the last bite of her fish, absently aware that it didn't taste quite as good as the earlier bites. Well... it had probably gotten cold, she reasoned. And food didn't taste as good when it was eaten colder than it should have been...

She set her chopsticks down with a soft sigh. "Thanks for the food." Her quiet voice was strangely loud in the silence... Fiercely, Luka shook her head and stormed off to get ready to leave. Why spend any more time alone in the house than necessary after all, right?

Right!

...Right...

* * *

><p>Rin checked her watch worriedly. "What's taking Miku-chan so long?" she wondered aloud.<p>

Beside her, Len frowned. It wasn't like Miku to be late...

"Maybe she stopped to stare at her Megurine-senpai picture collection," Neru remarked dryly. The only laughter in response was awkward tittering from the Kagamine twins; with Miku, it was not exactly outside of the realm of possibility.

"Hey guys!" Miku cheered, waving wildly as she ran toward her group of friends (and barreling over anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in her path). "Sorry I'm late!"

The Kagamine twins had been in the process of turning toward her in greeting when Miku suddenly tripped (with a brief scream of "ACK!"), apparently over her own shoelaces, and fell flat on her face.

"M-Miku-chan!" Rin exclaimed, rushing over to her along with Len. Kneeling beside her friend, she asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"

Miku groaned, clutching her nose as she sat up onto her knees. "Ow... Okay, that hurt."

Len grimaced, holding out his hand. "Yeah... it looked like it did... You okay?"

The tealette giggled, grabbing his wrist and letting him help her to her feet. "Yeah," she chirped, her boundless energy already shutting down any pain she might have suffered. "Just took me off guard, that's all!"

During this, their train pulled up and the group boarded without any further incident. There weren't any seats left, so they settled for standing in a group a bit away from the door. As the train began to move toward its next destination, Miku turned a grin over at Neru. "Oh yeah, and thanks for relaying my message to Lily-senpai, Neru-chan!"

The blonde girl stiffened. Her left eye ticked as she smiled nervously. "Ehe... Y-Yeah! No problem at all, Miku! N-No problem at all..."

Rin and Len looked between their two friends before looking at each other and shrugging. Whenever Miku grinned that widely, it usually wasn't a good thing... and to see the typically indifferent Neru unnerved like that didn't bode well either.

Not all knowledge, the Kagamine twins knew, was power.

* * *

><p>The trip to the Kamui household passed in relative peace, with the four teenagers occasionally making small talk and laughing about typical subjects, like music, teachers, stuff that happened in their classes, and others. Neru occasionally joined in, her eyes never leaving her phone, as per typical Neru behavior. When they rang the doorbell, the door was answered by Gakupo, who smiled warmly at them.<p>

"Hey. C'mon in, guys." He stepped aside to give them room, shutting the door behind them as they came in. Jerking his head toward the stairs, he said, "Gumi's upstairs in her room. Holler if you guys want anything, 'kay?"

"Thanks, Gakupo-senpai!" Miku chirped, as she slipped off her shoes and stepped onto the wooden floor.

"Sorry for intruding," the twins chorused politely and followed suit. Neru did the same, nodding to Gakupo as she entered.

They sauntered up the stairs. Miku reached the door first, but paused. All of them quickly followed suit, and even Neru looked up to see the message on the door. In bright, cheerfully colorful letters (with an emphasis on green and orange and a few carrot stickers adorning some of them) was a message. It read "Gumi's room! Enter at your own risk! (a pink heart was at the end of that message)"

They all blinked and looked at each other. Sure, they'd heard of some people having signs like that on the doors to their rooms, but usually, it was just perfectly harmless. But from Gumi... Eventually, they shrugged. How bad could it be, after all? Miku took it upon herself to open the door, calling cheerfully, "Hi-hi, Gumi-chan! We-"

Miku paused, as did the three behind her, all of them staring at the sight they beheld. Miku stared blankly, Neru stared impassively, and the Kagamine twins exploded into flames, staring with horrified fascination, their faces redder than tomatoes dunked into a vat of tomato sauce. Before them sat a girl with green hair, her back facing them as she kept her eyes on her monitor. On said monitor there was a rather graphic hentai scene playing out, which of course was not complete without the accompanying sound effects. Said sound effects were blasting from the speakers of the computer, and had apparently drowned out Miku's greeting. Pretty understandable, seeing how loud the cries of "Ah! Ah! W-Wait...! N-Not so – Ah! – rough...! Please...!" were blasting through the room.

Gumi seemed suddenly aware that she had company, as she turned in her seat to look casually over her shoulder. At the sight of her friends, she broke out into a wide million-watt smile. "Oh, hey guys! Sorry, didn't hear you come in!" she greeted cheerfully, as if there were not a graphic scene of a guy going to town on a girl on her monitor.

Miku returned the smile. "Heya, Gumi-chan! Whatcha watching there?" she asked, approaching curiously as if it were completely normal to walk in on your friend in the middle of watching some hentai anime.

Gumi shrugged indifferently as she turned back to the screen. "Some hentai I downloaded last night. It's... eh. I've seen better."

The tealette blinked at the screen. "Kinda feels like they got lazy with the art, doesn't it?"

"They have," Gumi said with obvious disappointment. She pointed at the screen, continuing, "See? Just the same thing over and over again for maybe four positions. It's like a gif I coulda made myself... Not bad voice acting though; that girl's wasted on this."

Miku nodded in agreement. The Kagamines did not. They covered their not-entirely-innocent-anymore eyes as best as they could, though they still peeked through their fingers at the sight (and besides, covering their eyes did nothing for their ears). Neru scoffed quietly, shaking her head. Still such children, if they could be affected by something like this. She glanced again at the scene. Nothing special at all. Just some girl with long blonde hair lying on a bed and moaning. Typical. Her golden gaze returned to her phone as she returned to her usual business of clicking away on the keypad.

"Hm, y'know..." Miku began slowly. "Doesn't she kinda look like Lily-senpai?"

As if by a switch, the clicking abruptly stopped.

"Hm?" Gumi leaned forward a little, green eyes analyzing the sight. "Huh... Actually, you're right, she kinda does, doesn't she?" Gumi cradled her chin between her index finger and her thumb, smiling in a vaguely appreciative manner. "That's kinda hot."

Neru's eyes lifted toward the screen, her expression one of growing dread. Come to think of it... Yeah... They were right... Her eye began to twitch. It wasn't _exactly_like her, of course, but... close enough... and... Neru's face became a mask of horror as the girl began crying out even more loudly, and to her ears it was no longer some voice actress's voice screaming out those filthy things, but the voice of Masuda Lily...

Miku let out a low, appreciative whistle. "Definitely good voice acting. She in any other anime?"

"Dunno. This is one of her milder scenes in this one though," Gumi said.

"Oh, really? Damn..."

A pair of gold eyes went bloodshot as a cell phone quavered in between two hands, Neru's face beginning to suggest something along the lines of a psychotic breakdown.

"Actually," Gumi said with all the casualness that one would display when speaking while watching a boring television show, "There's a really good gang rape scene ahead with her."

"G-Gang... rape..." Neru choked, barely audible as she trembled violently.

"Here, lemme skip over to-"

_**"AAAAHHHHHHHHHH! ! ! ! !"**_

Everyone whirled in shock, their eyes doubling in size as they watched Neru slamming her head into the wall repeatedly, hysterically screaming at the top of her lungs, her phone lying forgotten on the floor.

_**"NO! NO, NO, NO!**__**" **_Neru screamed, a bang accenting each "No!"_** "KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER! OH MY GOD! SENPAI, NO! NO! NO!"**_

"N-Neru-chan!" Rin cried in alarm.

"Neru-chan! What're you doing!" Miku exclaimed, eyes wide with bewilderment.

"Neru-san! Please calm down!" Len yelled, trying to keep the suddenly crazed girl from the wall.

"Ack! Chill, Neru-chan! My onii-chan will kill me if you break that wall!" Gumi shouted, leaping out of her seat and joining in the effort.

"_**NO, SENPAI, YOU CAN'T!" **_Neru screeched, deaf to her friends and their attempts to keep her from smashing her skull to pieces._** "NOT WITH THOSE DISGUSTING CREATURES! YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS! NO, LILY-SENPAI! NO! NO! NO!"**_

* * *

><p>Outside of a coffee shop that a group of four girls had just exited, Lily sneezed loudly for almost the fifth time in a short span of time. She withdrew a tissue from her purse, sniffling, "Geez, I dunno what's up with me today."<p>

"You've definitely been sneezing a lot today," Haku remarked, eyebrows furrowed with concern. "Are you feeling alright, Lily?"

"Yeah," Lily replied before wiping her nose. "I mean, I _feel_ alright, at least."

Meiko grinned impishly after taking a sip of her ice coffee. "Maybe someone's thinking about you, ne?"

Lily laughed. "Yeah, right. With my luck, it'll prolly be someone putting some crazy curse on me."

Beside her, Luka smiled. This was a nice change of pace, she told herself as she sipped at her mocha. Weekend hangouts with her friends had been pretty much the norm for her back before running afoul of a certain twintailed idiot. The numbers present for the get-togethers had always varied. Sometimes, all of them would be together. Sometimes, it would just be her and Lily. And usually, it was just about any combination of all of them, depending on their schedules that day. Today, it was just the girls, since Kaito and Dell both had drawn short straws at their respective part-time jobs, and Gakupo usually spent the day at home after a day with Gumi. Their activities would vary, usually depending on particular moods, cravings, or just flat-out whims, which always helped make each hangout fresh and interesting. It was always enjoyable for Luka to be with the people she felt most comfortable with, and today was no different in that sense.

But she had to admit to herself that it was a little strange not having Hatsune Miku near her for once.

Of course, she thought, her face warming slightly, this did not mean that she missed the little pest. Certainly not! Who would miss having a twintailed terror like that hovering over them all day long, a bundle of endless energy and apparently inhuman tolerance to pain? Luka most certainly didn't. It was very peaceful without her; she'd almost forgotten what it was like to be able to have a _normal_ conversation with her friends without constantly having a camera in her face, accompanied by an irritating voice swooning "Uwaa~ Senpai's lovely smile~~~" or drool-laden "Ehehe" laughs packaged with lecherous leers. She was finally able to let her guard down and not feel like she needed to worry about every gaze or camera aimed at her... or her chest... or her ass... or her legs... or her face...

She thought back to the fiasco at the restaurant yesterday when she was with Miku. She scowled faintly at remembering just how _close_ the tealette had gotten to her. Luka barely resisted the urge to touch her lips, remembering how Miku's moist breath, laced with anticipation (that Luka had rudely shut down), had felt against her lips. That punch to her temple had been _richly_ deserved, if she did say so herself. That impudent little pest...

_Stupid girl._

Even so, despite her obvious irritation and the fact she was with her friends, Luka had found herself thinking of the pest every so often. Well, why not? As annoying as she was, what with her omnipresence, her pervertedness, and her overwhelming energy, she was still (she would admit grudgingly) a friend. It was natural to think of one's loved ones, after all. It was no different for her than idly wondering how her parents were doing, or Lily or Gakupo, or any of her other friends. There was no problem with it whatsoever. Besides, as a friend, it was natural to wonder if she was doing well at this moment, and if she was having fun where she was right now. And that was why this was okay!

Though she thought this with some semblance of confidence, Luka could not help but ask herself what _exactly_ it was that was okay...

* * *

><p>"Geez, Miku-chan!" Rin exclaimed. "That's like the third time you've sneezed already! Are you sure you're okay?"<p>

Miku wiped her nose with her handkerchief. "I... think I am..." she said, her tone a little surprised and suggesting that she didn't quite believe what she was saying. She scratched her cheek thoughtfully. "I mean, I was okay this morning..."

"I bet someone's talking about you!" Gumi cheered happily. "Or thinking of you!"

"I thought that only applied if they were actually saying something about you?" Len asked.

"Er..." the green-haired girl tapped her chin in contemplation, frowning with thought. "Uhh... I'm _pretty_ sure it works both ways... Doesn't it?"

Shrugs. Neru's shrug was followed by a wince as she touched the X-shaped bandage on her forehead before returning to her phone.

Gumi shrugged back. "Oh well, whatever. Who knows!" she exclaimed, her unbridled cheer back in full force. "Maybe it's Luka-san thinking about you! You guys had a romantic date yesterday after all~~~"

She sighed dreamily, apparently already off in Gumi-Gumi Land. The three blondes in the room sweatdropped, two because they dreaded what exactly constituted a "romantic" date in Gumi's mind (or Miku's for that matter...), and one because she had been an unwilling (but not entirely) witness, and therefore knew better. For her part, Miku grinned, but shook her head while waving her hand in front of herself.

"Nah, it wasn't anything special," she said. "Just took her to a movie, had some lunch, and then we hit up the game center, that's all."

Rin blinked, cocking her head to the side. "That's surprisingly normal from you," she remarked. "I was expecting a whole lot worse."

She did not mention that both she and her brother had been fully expecting her to end up in the hospital before the date was half over. While Miku had long been a dear friend of theirs, there was something about Megurine Luka that brought out some very dark and nigh-criminal tendencies in her...

In response, the tealette laughed lightly. "Oh, I know. I could tell that Luka-senpai was expecting the worst from me too. She stood apart from me on the train and made sure to never walk between me and a dark alley!" Settling down into a smile (and apparently oblivious to the sweatdrops her comment generated from the twins), she said, "But, no, I really wouldn't do that to her. I wasn't even expecting to go out with her yesterday, so I was just happy being with her~ I just thought we'd have fun, y'know? And I wanted to make sure that Luka-senpai enjoyed herself while she was with me."

All eyes were on her, everyone stunned into appalled silence. Len was the first one to break the silence as he breathed, "Wow... That's... actually really considerate of you..."

"Yeah, you've been pretty forceful with her so far," Rin added, her tone saying that she was clearly impressed.

Miku smiled. "Well, I can't be pushy and evil all the time! I like her, after all. I want her, but I want her to enjoy being with me too. Nothing wrong with that, ne?"

Neru narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Despite the note of affection in Miku's tone as she talked of the senpai she liked so much... She couldn't help but feel like something was a little off about what she was saying, compared to her usual actions... Gumi had apparently caught on to this discrepancy too, but instead of mirroring Neru's reaction, a wicked grin curled her lips. Leaning towards the tealette conspiratorially, she said, "What you _really_mean is that sometimes, you need to change tactics to soften her defenses, ne?"

Miku averted her eyes, her bangs casting a shadow over her eyes and a sinister smile tugged at a corner of her mouth. "Well~" she said in an airy tone with undeniably dark undertones. "I suppose you can look at it that way too~"

The three blondes sweatdropped simultaneously. _I knew it..._

* * *

><p>Luka shivered suddenly, causing her friends to look over at her.<p>

"You okay, Luka?" Haku asked with concern.

"Er, yeah... I'm alright..."

_What was with that sudden overwhelming feeling of dread...?_

"Maybe Miku-chan was thinking something evil about you~" Lily remarked far too casually.

Luka glowered at her, receiving an impish smile in return. "If that were the case, then I'd be in a perpetual state of fear. God alone knows of the horrors that idiot thinks of every second."

"I dunno~" Lily said with mock hesitation. "Those horrors might be more fun than you might thi-"

In the next instant, the blonde had anime river tears streaming down her face, clutching the stinging red bump on her head courtesy of the Ice Princess's iron fist. Haku frowned with disapproval, but shook her head, feeling that Lily had earned that one. Meiko snickered at their friend's expense, but turned to Luka and asked, "Speaking of Miku, where is she anyway?"

Luka shrugged casually as she replied, "Hanging out with her friends. She's apparently meeting with Akita-san, the Kagamine twins, and Gumi."

All fell silent as Luka finished. Even Lily's whimpering paused as she looked over at the pinkette, still pressing a hand over the bump on her head. Luka raised an eyebrow at them before pausing to think about what she'd said. She blinked.

"Um..." Haku ventured timidly. "Are... they all going to be okay...?"

No one answered. With Gumi the ultra pervert in the mix, there wasn't much telling what exactly would happen. Each of them had seen Gumi's room a few times, and thus were aware of the mountains of pornographic materials that the green-haired girl collected. Gakupo tried his best to keep the numbers under control, but had exasperatedly admitted that it seemed like the manga, magazines, movies, and games he confiscated bred in secret, as the materials would either worsen in terms of numbers, severity, or both. And it was pretty hard to miss that sometimes, Gumi had a hard time letting the 2D world _stay_ in the 2D world...

* * *

><p>Rin and Len stared in trepidation. They wanted to say the person they were looking at was Gumi, but it wasn't <em>quite<em> the Kamui Gumi they knew. For instance, while it had the same color eyes and hair as Kamui Gumi, they never knew Kamui Gumi to have such a profusely bleeding nose, or overflowing drool... or such a strong grip, as they trembled underneath the vise-like grip that this hentai demon had on their shoulders.

"No, really," she rasped. "You guys sure, _absolutely_ sure, that you've never had dirty thoughts about each other?"

After Miku's little episode of being darker and more sinister, they'd all gone on to just relaxing. Miku was currently indulging in some manga series that Gumi had introduced to her, and Neru sat on the bed beside her, clicking away on her cell phone as usual. Gumi and the twins didn't know each other that well, seeing how they'd only known each other for perhaps a week, and the green-haired girl had taken the liberty of mentioning that they looked a lot alike. Rin had happily replied that they were twins, their births separated by only a few minutes, with Len as the younger twin. This had brought a suddenly heavy silence.

"Twins...?" Gumi had breathed in a barely audible voice. "You guys... are twins...? Like... really twins?"

They had thought her reply a bit strange, but had cautiously replied that indeed they were. This had apparently flipped a switch, seeing how Gumi had seized their shoulders and began interrogating them, her eyes positively sparkling with an almost-maniacal enthusiasm they had previously believed only Miku was capable of and her eager smile that of a kid in a candy store. They saw just how deadly a mistake they had made when Gumi began questioning them of the _exact _nature of their feelings toward each other...

"No, I'm being totally serious!" Gumi exclaimed. "You guys haven't? At all? Never kissed or anything when you were kids? C'mon, don't be shy!"

They had every right to be shy. Petrified, really. Len squeaked a pathetic reply of, "No...?"

The defensive question mark on what should have been a bold, resounding "No, dammit!" really couldn't be helped... Gumi frowned with disappointment at the negative reply.

"Why not?" she wailed in dismayed disbelief. "Twincest is wincest! ("Tw-Twincest...?" Rin squeaked, paling at the same time as her brother. Her dread-filled question had been steamrolled by Gumi's further outburst.) I usually prefer yuri twincest, sure, but I mean, this is fine too! And come to think of it, Len-kun, you look femme-y enough that I could prolly mistake you for a girl!" Her emerald-green eyes flashed with excitement as she stared at Len like he was a piece of the greatest candy ever made. "All we'd need you to do is start dressing up like a girl! Y'know, get you a sailor suit like your sister, some panties... In fact, I should just start calling you Len-chan to get you more into character! Yes! That'd be great!"

No, the twins, especially Len, thought. No, that would _not _be great.

Gumi the Mega-Pervert continued to slaver over them. The Kagamines desperately looked at their friends for assistance, but Neru was no help, as she had torn her eyes away from her phone to leaf through a manga that had been beside Miku, and said tealette was still busy with the manga series she had been reading.

An eerily cheerful grin practically split Gumi's face in two as she glanced between both twins. "And y'know, I've got two maid costumes that I'd like you two to wear... Ehehe... Maid twins... Oh yeah, I can see it now..." Her gaze fixed itself onto Rin as she fixed her with an eager stare. "Let's start with you, ne, Rin-chan~~~?"

"Th-Th-That's not necessary..." the older twin squeaked, backing away as much as she could.

"Oh c'mon~" Gumi wheedled. This frankly wasn't much different from being talked to in a wheedling tone by a mobster while one was sitting in a chair and tied up. "It won't be too bad~~~! C'mon let's get started, ne- AH!"

Everyone stared blankly as they saw Gumi's mouth being tugged sideways, courtesy of several fingers that had slipped in from behind. All eyes moved up to see Gakupo standing over his sister with a very unimpressed expression on his face.

"That's quite enough, Gumi," he said sternly. "Leave them alone; you're scaring our guests."

"Aw, c'mon, onii-chan!" Or at least, that sounded like what she was saying.

He pulled her backwards, away from the twins and swatted her over the head lightly. "_No_, Gumi."

Gumi pouted and folded her arms over her chest. "Spoilsport."

Gakupo smirked lightly as he rubbed her head affectionately. "Someone has to keep you in check."

He shot a discreet wink and thumbs up sign to the twins, who looked at him gratefully.

* * *

><p>It was evening now. Haku and Meiko had already gone their separate ways, and since Luka and Lily were headed in the same direction for a while anyway, they ended up walking together. Presently, Lily smiled.<p>

"It was nice having us together like that. Haven't really been able to do that since Miku-chan came along."

"Mm."

Her ocean-blue eyes shifted sideways toward her friend. Luka was staring distantly ahead of herself, her eyes out of focus with thought. An amused smirk tugged on a corner of her mouth. She'd been doing that all day, and while nothing particularly amusing would happen, like a cute blush or a dreamy expression crossing her face, it was still nice to see the usual impassive Ice Princess acting in this manner. She grinned before forcing herself to a casually neutral expression. Clearing her throat, Lily remarked offhandedly, "Thinking of your little twintailed admirer again, I see."

As she predicted, Luka snapped out of her reverie. She turned a dark scowl onto the blonde, who did not bother fighting the smirk that pulled at her mouth. "I beg your pardon?" she hissed icily.

"Well, you've been spacing out a lot today~ I could only imagine that you were missing Miku-chan~"

The air around Luka grew as cold as a winter night. "Miss her?" she scoffed. Sneering dismissively, she huffed, "Why would I miss her? It's been a peaceful day. It's nice to have a break from her hovering over me all day long." Luka flipped her hair over her shoulder nonchalantly as she spoke. "My only regret is that tomorrow, I shall have to endure her presence in my room again as she disturbs my rest."

"Ah, is that right?"

"Yes, yes, it is!"

Definitely acidic tone there. Lily's grin widened. She didn't know why it was so fun to tease Luka, but it was, and she had no intentions of ever giving up this most wonderful pastime. "Oh, it can't be so bad," she said airily. "I imagine it must be nice to have such a cute underclassman fawning over you the way she does~ She's definitely ahead of the game compared to all the others who have tried their hand at winning the Ice Princess's heart~"

Luka scowled, turning to face ahead of herself. "I hate that nickname," she growled, even knowing full well that would do absolutely nothing to deter Lily. "And there's nothing nice about it at all. It's bad enough having hundreds of slavering teenagers all over me. She's definitely the worst of them all. Even if that stupid girl is absurdly persistent, she's no better than any of the ones that came before her."

The pinkette's voice had grown a bit quieter toward the end, instantly dispelling Lily's humor. She carefully eyed her friend, whose icy gaze had become darker. Seeing how she had been her friend for so long and had learned to read Luka well, it was hard for her to miss the bitterness in her eyes. Turning to face forward again as the two girls continued walking together down the sidewalk, she switched her approach. "You sounded like you had fun when you were hanging out with Miku-chan yesterday."

Earlier, Meiko had managed to coax Luka into at least giving them the short version of the date Luka had gone on with Miku. Lily had needed to feign ignorance of the events and pretend that she'd never known about what had happened (it was an easy task when she imagined how many bones of hers the pinkette would have irreparably destroyed if she'd known that the blonde had been tailing her), but she'd noted with great interest all the subtle signs that said Luka had not hated it as much as she tried to make it sound like she did. In fact, from what she could tell based on all of her observations about Luka's body language and tone, she'd actually enjoyed herself.

Luka scowled briefly, but shrugged with apparent nonchalance. "I suppose I did. You couldn't really call it a date, even if that idiot kept calling it one; we were just hanging out. There's nothing wrong with hanging out with a friend."

"Mm, true," Lily conceded.

She let the matter drop, not sure if she wanted to push Luka any further today. Inwardly, she began to think on what she knew of Miku. Ultimately, her pool of knowledge concerning her was on the shallow side. Neru was her chief source of information concerning the Miku side of this juicy potential relationship, but Neru and Miku had only become friends earlier in the school year, so there wasn't much Neru could tell her. But from what she could see, the tealette was a much slyer sort than she let on. Certainly, she was cute, and energetic, and perverted; she made absolutely no attempt to hide any of those traits, and they were definitely genuine. But Lily couldn't help but feel like there was some method to Miku's madness. The main thing that had her wondering was the fact that Miku had ended up going on such a very normal date with Luka. Well, not only just normal, but not even really date-like.

Had she done this on purpose to coax Luka into being more comfortable with her?

If so, that alone would have raised her a few hundred more points in her book. Luka had always been very wary around people she didn't know, but it seemed that Miku had a good way into her senpai's heart. It was most certainly amusing to watch, she had to say. And she knew that she'd keep on observing.

For her part, Luka continued to walk beside her blonde friend, her thoughts focused elsewhere. Again, she found herself thinking about Miku. She scowled faintly at this thought. How dare she keep intruding on her thoughts... Irritating... So irritating... As if it were not bad enough that she had intruded on her life, now she made herself at home in her thoughts. She could only wonder what it was that menace had done to her.

Something clenched inside of her at the thought of the tealette. It wasn't necessarily painful, but it did feel unpleasant. It couldn't have been something she ate; she'd last eaten several hours ago. She shook her head briefly. So irritating...

She tried to take her mind off of this by looking over at some of the stores they were passing by. A little window shopping was just the thing to distract her, and she couldn't remember the last time she had indulged in doing so. She paused outside of one of the stores, causing Lily to stop and turn toward her. The blonde blinked uncomprehendingly, looking between her friend and the store.

"Oi, Luka? What's up?"

She didn't reply right away. Glancing briefly at Lily, she said, "Um... I feel like buying something."

With that, she walked into the store. Lily wasn't sure she understood but shrugged and followed, tossing a questioning stare at the store's sign.

"But... why here...?" the blonde muttered awkwardly.

* * *

><p>Later that night found the Kagamine twins at home. Len had just finished getting out of the shower and headed to his room, pausing to peek through the crack in his sister's room. Rin was lying on her bed, chatting on her cell phone. They made eye contact and he smiled warmly and bid his sister good night, which she returned. He headed over to his room, closing the door behind him and flopping onto his bed. What a day... That Kamui Gumi-san was really something else... At least after her older brother had rescued the twins from potentially having their clothes torn to pieces and ending up going home in maid costumes (which would have been <em>very <em>hard for them to explain to their parents, especially for him), the day had passed with relative peace.

Rolling his head to the side, he caught sight of a manga that Gumi had lent him. She'd thought it would be something up his alley, and had shot him a thumbs up as he accepted it. He could only wonder at that; he wasn't sure what exactly it was that would have appealed. Still, he figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. It looked like it might be a tad... intense... given that the man and woman on the cover were locked in an embrace, eyes locked in an uncomfortably intense gaze. Glancing at the clock, Len figured that he'd start tonight.

"Just a few pages," he told himself, flipping it open.

The art was very nice, he had to say. Granted, he'd never read very many manga; he usually was more into light novels or just being on his computer, but he wasn't opposed to manga in the least. He quickly found to his mild discomfort that the girl on the cover had actually not been a woman at all; rather, it was a he. He shrugged. It wasn't really his cup of tea, but there was nothing wrong with men falling in love with each other. In his mind, no one could help who they fell in love with, and there was no point condemning someone just because their tastes did not fit what was "right". Len continued to read. The two characters certainly had some good chemistry. But as he read on, the two boys, who went to an all-boys school together, began kissing. Well, nothing wrong with that, he thought. But then their clothes began to come undone and... and...

Growing horror began to creep onto Len's face. His eyes widened, his mouth falling open, every fiber of his body trembling. It was like a train wreck: no matter how horrific it got, he could not tear his gaze away. And then...

And then...

His eye twitched...

And then...

...

* * *

><p>"But really, Miku-chan..." Rin said as she held the phone to her ear. "You should be more careful. Megurine-senpai's really violent..."<p>

"Ehe~ I wouldn't be too worried. I recover quick, y'know?"

Rin sighed. There wasn't much she could say in response to that. She knew quite well how nigh-impervious to violence her friend was... "I know that," the blonde conceded, reluctance heavy in her voice. "But still. I mean... what do you see in her anyway?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Miku sounded genuinely surprised.

"Well, like..." Rin frowned as she tried to find the words she wanted to say. "She... Well, Megurine-senpai's really pretty, yeah. You can't really deny it; she's gorgeous. I mean, Gumi-chan even said that she's turned straight girls gay and turned gay guys straight, and I can believe that. I get all that... But... But she's so cold and she's got such a nasty temper and... And I really don't like how violent she is to you. You're my best friend, Miku-chan."

She could hear Miku's smile in her voice as the tealette replied. "I'm glad you're worried about me, Rin-chan. And I know she's all that. Hell, I should know better than anyone else, yeah?" She laughed lightheartedly, and Rin could not help but smile. "But there's more to her than that," Miku continued in a gentle, affectionate voice. "I can't really explain it too well; I'm not that good with words, y'know? But she's definitely worth it. And if she thinks she's gonna get away from me, then-"

"_**AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ! ! ! ! !"**_

Rin jumped in shock, performing a brief juggling act with her phone as she shot into a sitting position in bed.

"What was that?" Miku exclaimed in alarm.

"I-I dunno," Rin said, looking worriedly through the wall to where her brother's room would be. "It came from Len's room... Hey, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay, Miku-chan?"

"Sure. Good night, Rin-chan."

As soon as the line disconnected, Rin tossed her phone onto her bed and raced to her twin brother's room. She flung the door open, crying, "Len! Len, are you okay?"

There was no reply from him. He was facing the wall, his hands covering his head as he was curled into a fetal position in his bed, whimpering in an utterly pitiful manner.

"Y-You can't...! N-Not there...!" he groaned, cringing pathetically. "The human body isn't meant to handle that...!"

Rin blinked. She tipped her head to the side, looking at her brother in confusion. What was he on about? She looked down to see a manga on the floor, recognizing it to be the one he had been loaned by Gumi. Curious, she picked it up.

"Huh... A yaoi, huh?" She was hardly fazed by the fact the bottom was a very femme-y looking guy. She'd read a couple of yaoi manga before online, so it wasn't like it was anything new to her. Len was just being a wuss, in her opinion. She smiled exasperatedly, shaking her head as she skimmed the pages. "Honestly... Getting disturbed by just this?" she murmured. "And we're supposed to be twins... Geez, Len, you-"

She cut off into a gasp, having reached the part where the two characters became more intimate. Rin flipped through it slowly, her eyes raking over the exquisitely detailed drawings and the... the... She swallowed hard as she flipped the page, gasping once more.

"Oh my God!" She stared hard at the pages, trembling as she buried her nose into the manga. "W-Wow, I... I..." She lapsed into silence, quivering violently.

This...

This was...

This was unholy...

She flipped the page, her eyes widening. This was also unholy...

She flipped to the next page, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. This was also unholy...!

"That hole shouldn't be used for that...!" Len groaned out to some person that was probably in his head as he cringed, doubtless fully remembering the scenes in the pages his sister beheld. Apparently, he was traumatized. "P-Please stop...! I'm not ready for things like this...! At least... At least use some lube, I beg you...!" He trailed off into various groans of apparent pain.

Rin looked up at her cringing brother, her face a very deep red, almost masking the twin trails of blood spilling out her nose. She grinned in a fashion that was scarily akin to Miku's as she shot her brother's back a thumbs up. "Len... Guys in BL don't need lube to get it in...!"

Poor Len did not hear. Rin wiped away the blood and drool on her face with her pajama sleeve as she turned to walk out the door. "It's okay, poor Len-Len~ Onee-chan will take this off your hands~ Ehehe..."

* * *

><p>Luka stared at the object on her bed, which practically exuded an aura of evil. It had to. Some kind of mind-clouding evil that had made her do this. There was no other explanation for it. She was on her knees in front of her bed, staring at the items that she had purchased from the store, her left eye twitching.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Back in the store...<strong>

Lily shifted her eyes uncomfortably. "Um... Luka... I know we're good friends and all but like... I dunno... This isn't something you do with your friends, y'know?"

"I'm just browsing, that's all." Despite how casual she tried to force herself to sound, Luka sounded more than a bit embarrassed.

The blonde continued to shuffle her feet nervously, looking around at the... merchandise. She couldn't wait to get out of here, and she could only wonder what had possessed Luka to do this all of a sudden. She opened her mouth to speak as she moved her eyes toward her friend, but quickly shut her mouth soundlessly as she saw what her friend was holding.

"Uh... L-Luka, um..."

The pinkette flushed deeply, trembling as she continued to hold onto the item in question. "Wh-Wh-What?" she snapped.

"Er... Uhh... Y'know what, never mind."

* * *

><p><strong>Present...<strong>

Luka's expression could best be described as a "What the hell is wrong with me?" type of expression, and it was certainly a question that could not be answered by the object lying on her bed.

The item in question, in fact, was a pair of very sexy black lace panties.

She slammed her face into the bed, ruffling her hair, and wondering just why exactly she had felt this urge all day to wear black lace panties.

Something was wrong with her...

Something was _very_ wrong with her...

* * *

><p>End Chapter 5<p>

* * *

><p>A whole chapter without Miku taking a punchwashpan/foot to the face from Luka? I know, blasphemy. XP This chapter did have a point, and it was also an excuse for me to give the Kagamines a little screen(?) time. Rest assured, there'll probably be more than poor Miku's fair share of pain ahead. The Ice Princess doesn't melt easily, unfortunately...

To cover my bases, I have absolutely nothing against BL. It's not my cup of tea, but there's nothing wrong with it; we like what we like. But I thought I'd have a little fun here, and poor Len just happened to the draw the short straw~

And yeah, I tossed in a bit more of the Lily/Neru angle... Not gonna lie; when the fourth chapter was initially brainstormed, Lily and Neru weren't even supposed to be in it. Then I thought of adding in Lily, then Neru... and as I wrote, I kinda started shipping them in my head a little... XD *headdesk*There might be more of them in future updates, so you have been warned...

A Few Review Responses

IdrewAcow: Thanks as always for reviewing! And yeah, I'll try to keep updating as quick as I can. Hope to see some more updates from you in the hopefully near future too! :D

Blodh Skolir: Hope the ending of the chapter answered your question. XD Sadly was short, but I meant for it more as a punchline kinda thing. XP Here's hoping I keep the fan-zombies from mobbing me too badly! ^_^;

sawc: Is Miku's gaming strategy the same as her strategy to get to Luka's heart? Mm... maybe... :D I'm glad you liked that chapter as much as you did!

Seishun Vibration: I'm glad you liked Luka's reactions to horror! I actually had never watched K-ON! before, but I checked it out after reading your review. Afterwards, I really wished I'd watched it before I wrote the previous chapter, it prolly woulda given me a bit more inspiration to work off of... XD;; Ah well, can't win 'em all, I guess... ^_^;

LukaFan: Oh my God, "Alice in Musicland" was so full of awesome! Cheshire Luka was just soooo adorable, and even though I was fully expecting Miku as Alice, she was still super cute too! And Rin as the Mad Hatter, I just about died. I'd balked at first at the length, but by the time I reached the end, I was like "What? No! I want moar! D:" Good times. As for "The Hangover", rest assured I have no intentions of abandoning it. I miss writing jealous/berserk Miku myself, it's just I've got a lot less time to write... Damn the real world. :( I can't promise when I'll have an update for it, but I'll hopefully have one in the near future!

SinnersLikeUs: I just wanna say that I love reading _What's My Age Again?_ It's just as epic as your other works, and hope you keep it up with it! Come to think of it, "Black Swan" would have been pretty good to use in the previous chapter, but I just ultimately tried to do something that I figured would be generic enough; gave me room to throw in a little poke at splatter films. XDD

TruePrime: I definitely don't want Luka to just fall head over heels for Miku as soon as she realizes her feelings, but I'll see how it goes... I tend to end up letting my fics write themselves at times, and then I sometimes end up in strange corners. x_X; I'm glad you've liked Miku and Luka so far though!

x3VanillaxLove: I'm glad you like Miku in this story, cuz she's pretty much the one I have the most fun writing here. XD There's something about a cute and perky but still aggressive and perverted Miku that's very fun to write... XD

Thyrokio: Just wanted to extend a big thanks to you for reviewing and checking out a lotta my other works! Glad you like them, and I hope you continue to enjoy them! :D

psychomaid: I love your pen name; Sakuya Izayoi rocks! :D Hang in there, these two have a ways to go, but they'll get there! :D (I can't end it any other way, I'm a giant sucker for Miku/Luka x_X) Hope you continue to enjoy reading!

Another big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, all of them are truly appreciated! Hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter too, and I'll try to get the next one up... Mm, maybe not this week-ish, but maybe next. We'll see... x_x 'Til next time, everyone! ^_^b


	6. Chapter 6

Wow, I'm sorry about the late update XD;;; I'd like to thank you all for your patience; this chapter was a real struggle to write. x_X; I kept getting distracted by _Deus Ex Human Revolution _and _Portal 2_, plus the fact that I had to rewrite this chapter no less than seven times until I finally had something I was happy with. x_x-;; Hope this next chapter was worth the wait! ^_^;

DISCLAIMER: Still own absolutely nothing.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

* * *

><p>With a groan, Len opened his eyes to be greeted by the sight of a new day. He blinked blearily, looking around and taking in the comforting, familiar sight of his room. Great... And his eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. He sat up, rubbing his face hard. Maybe he should see if his mom would let him have some coffee this morning... Probably not though. He and Rin had a track record of being insanely hyper when they had coffee. Len felt today he might need it though, seeing how he hadn't been able to get a good night's rest thanks to that damn BL manga... Damn that Gumi-san... Why she would think that he'd be into that, he had not the slightest idea... It wasn't as though he thought it was <em>wrong,<em> certainly not. And he probably could have handled it if it weren't so... explicit (though if his parents ever found it, he would have had a _lot_ of explaining to do...). But she just had to slip him something that had pretty much ruined his poor virgin eyes. It probably didn't help him any that last night's manga had been his first foray into anything explicit in general...

Len sighed, shaking his head. Well, nothing to be done about it now... He swung his legs off the bed and stood up for a quick stretch, some of his joints creaking and popping as he did. That he blamed on pretty much being curled into a fetal position for a whole night, which he doubted could possibly have been very good for his joints. He padded out of his room and headed to his sister's room. Though they were twins, the Kagamines had differing strengths. A prime example was the differences between them in the mornings. While Rin was a night owl for the most part, she usually wasn't much good in the mornings, whereas Len was a morning person, but tended to get sleepy quickly when night came around. For this reason, it usually fell on Len's shoulders to wake his sister up on school days. Reaching his sister's door, he knocked quietly.

"Rin, are you up?" The usual lack of response came as no surprise to him. "I'm coming in, okay?"

It is probably worthy of some note that, as twin siblings who had always been very close to each other and had shared a room up until early junior high, it was not unusual in the least for the Kagamine twins to catch each other in a less than presentable state. This included, but was not limited to, various states of undress, embarrassing moments such as bursting into tears at the end of _The Fox and the Hound_ (actually, neither could reveal that as an embarrassing factoid, seeing how they _both_ had done that), and innumerable compromising sleeping positions. This, however, was a first for Len.

It wasn't the fact that Rin's sleeping clothes, a baggy nightshirt and shorts, had gotten messy during the night. Rather, what caught his attention was that she was sprawled out on her bed, a very satisfied and _very_ perverted smile on her face. He noted also that there was some drool seeping out a corner of her mouth, along with a fair amount of blood that had trickled out of her nose. Len scratched the back of his head, an uncomfortable expression on his face. This was... new. Shrugging, he walked up to her, shaking the older twin gently as he tried to rouse her from her slumber.

"Oi, Rin. C'mon, it's morning! Get up already! Rin!"

Nothing. Well, there was a faint "Ehehe~" that he heard from her, which made a sweatdrop roll down the side of his head at how similar to Miku's that sounded... Maybe Miku's perverted tendencies were getting to her... Although, to be fair, he hadn't really known how perverted Miku was up until Megurine Luka-senpai had entered the picture. There was just something about that pink-haired beauty that brought out something absolutely criminal in her...

...Or maybe she'd just always been like this and he'd never noticed. That was always a possibility.

Presently, he pursed his lips in mild annoyance, toying with just splashing some water on her face to wake her since, to be brutally honest, she looked pretty disgusting right now. He took a step away to at least get a wet cloth to accomplish this with when his foot came in contact with something on the floor. Looking down, he saw that his foot had brushed against a manga. Len sighed. Rin could be so slovenly sometimes... He wasn't necessarily a neat freak, but he preferred being at least presentable, which Rin seemed to not entirely agree with.

"And we're supposed to be twins," he muttered, shaking his head as he bent down to pick up the manga.

She'd probably been reading this for most of the night, knowing her. Seeing how it was open, he figured he might as well steal a glance and see what kind of things she'd been read... ing...

As soon as he saw the image, Len froze up. This part... This manga... He trembled, his eyes staring sightlessly through the pages as the trauma that had haunted him last night seized him in its grip once more. The manga dropped to the floor, and he fell along with it.

Rin was awoken by a sudden thumping noise. She managed to crack her eyes open, groaning softly. Morning, huh? She sat up slowly, breaking out into a loud yawn. Her face settled into a sleepy but content smile. That read last night had been _really_ good, she thought. Sure, the plot was pretty typical, but most hentai got pretty repetitive to her anyway. And besides, she thought, a perverted tilt entering her smile, those two characters had been _hot._Hopefully it was a series... Rin felt excited just thinking about it! But, that would have to wait. For now, she had to go to school... Sigh.

She wiped away the mess on her face with her shirt; this one needed to be tossed in the wash anyway. Rin swung her legs off the bed and lowered her feet to the flo- Her feet came in contact with something warm and distinctly un-floor-like. Blinking, she pulled her legs back up to her as she peered over the edge of the bed. Rin blinked.

"...Len? What are you doing down there?"

No response. Wait, he was muttering... Rin frowned. "Ne, I can't hear you if you mumble like that, y'know?"

He seemed not to hear. Rin pouted. How dare he ignore her! Even if she was only a few minutes older than he was, she was still the older sister! He should have more respect for his elders! She was about to give him a good kick when she thought she heard him say something about... Well, she couldn't quite make it out, but it seemed he was talking to himself. Her brow furrowing with confusion, Rin hopped off the bed and squatted near her brother's trembling form.

"Stop... Please... Stop it...!" Len whimpered, shaking like a leaf. "Not in there... please... I'm underage! I'm only fourteen, please stop this at once...!"

Rin could not help grinning at his expense. "Poor Len-Len," she cooed, petting his hair. She guessed (quite rightly) that the manga from last night had been his first experience with anything explicit... and to be something _that_ hardcore...

"N-No... No, it doesn't feel good at all...!" Apparently, the petting wasn't doing him any good. "It'll never fit...! It'll never fit...!"

"Len, it seems you don't know, but in hentai..." She beamed, flashing his traumatized form a thumbs up. "It _always_ fits!"

The younger twin still made no response. With a (not entirely) sympathetic smile for her twin brother, Rin patted him on the head before hopping lightly to her feet. She all but skipped to the bathroom. She should probably return that one soon on Len's behalf to Gumi-chan.

_Hm... I wonder if Gumi-chan has any other recommendations?_

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the Megurine household, Megurine Yukari had invited in disaster, quite literally.<p>

"Good morning, Yukari-san!" Miku chirped, flashing her a million-watt smile.

"Good morning, Miku-chan!" Yukari greeted in a similar fashion. She shut the door behind the household's familiar guest, asking, "Would you like me to set out some juice for you?"

"Sure!"

"Okay! I'll get it for you while you wake Luka-chan up. And thank you again for doing this, Miku-chan. My daughter's lucky to have a friend like you."

"Ehe~ Well, I can at least do this much for senpai!"

After flashing her a rather cute smile, Yukari turned to walk toward the kitchen. As the older woman did so, Miku stole a quick appreciative once-over at her back. She had hair the color of sakura petals, much like her daughter did, but instead of letting it fall to her waist, she had hers around her upper back. Her figure was every bit as voluptuous as Luka's, maybe even more so since she was a full-grown woman, and her features were youthful. Miku wondered just when exactly Yukari had given birth to Luka; she looked like she could be in her early to mid twenties. She let out a low whistle, thinking to herself that Luka's father was one lucky man...

"Ehehe~" Miku stole one last peek at Yukari, briefly leering at the way her hips swayed when she walked before bounding up the stairs. She didn't feel the slightest ounce of remorse over checking out her senpai's mom. There was no harm in just looking after all, right? Right!

_Damn, if senpai's gonna look like that when she's Yukari-san's age, I'm __**definitely **__sticking around... which I was going to anyway~_

With that happy thought, Miku flung open the door to Luka's room and called cheerfully, "Good morning, senpai!"

No response came from the bed's occupant. Miku walked over to Luka's sleeping form and reached over her to yank the curtains open, allowing warm sunlight to filter into the room. Looking down, she saw that the pinkette was not entirely covered by her sheets. She was wearing cute pink pajamas, and apparently had rolled around a bit in her sleep last night, seeing how the clothes had come undone a bit. Miku grinned with lecherous glee at seeing how Luka's top was almost completely unbuttoned, the folds not fully covering her ample chest. Her pajama pants had slipped down a little too, and her underwear with it, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of her slender waist, and a generous portion of her midriff.

Miku's grin widened even further, a trickle of blood starting at her nose. _Kyaa~ So cute... and vulnerable... Oh, I really shouldn't be looking; this is just too much!_

It was pretty rich of her to be thinking that, considering that she'd already taken out her camera and taken a few pictures of her senpai in such an indecent state. The disheveled hair only made it even better and helped her already active imagination wander... Satisfied for the moment, she returned the camera to the pocket of her navy-blue uniform skirt. Shaking Luka gently, she said, "Ne, senpai, it's morning! C'mon, wake up!"

Surprisingly, there was no response. Miku blinked. She shook her again. "Senpai? Senpai! Ne, senpai!"

Nothing.

Miku blinked, staring blankly down at her sleeping senpai. Luka's breaths were slow and even, her chest rising and falling with each breath. Miku continued staring. Then... shadows fell over her face until only her eyes were showing, hinting at the evil grin shaping her mouth.

_Chance~~~!_

As this thought went through her head, a church bell tolled ominously in the distance...

She climbed quietly up onto the bed until she was straddling Luka, her hands on either side of the lovely Ice Princess's head. "Senpai~~~" Miku sang in a breathy, seductive voice full of vile intentions. She lowered herself down toward her, tucking several strands of teal hair behind her ear as she suppressed soft giggles of anticipation and glee. "If you don't wake up... I'm gonna _kiss_ you..."

Luka's only response was to continue breathing, her luscious pink lips slightly parted. Miku quivered with anticipation, an almost maniacal gleam in her eye. She was so close to her prize!

_Ehehe~~~ Luka-senpai's lips..._She began to lean down further. _Itadakimasu~~~!_

But just as her lips were about to touch Luka's, she paused. The evil glint in her eyes had faded, replaced instead by consternation. Actually... Now that she thought about it... Wasn't this cheating in a way? While she certainly did believe in playing to win and doing what was necessary to get what she wanted... She frowned with thought before finally shaking her head. No... She couldn't do this. She wasn't sure if this would be Luka-senpai's first kiss, but it definitely would have been the first kiss with her. It wouldn't be very rewarding to kiss Luka while she slept anyway. Oh sure, she had some killer lips (Miku found herself involuntarily licking her own lips at the sight), but... well...

Miku sighed. Some other time. But oh, the temptation...! She shook her head. She couldn't... but that was alright. She'd get her opportunity. Miku nodded to herself, full of conviction. A smirk shaped her lips as she leaned down so that her face was but a breath's distance from Luka's. Her eyes took on a seductive gleam, and she began to whisper softly to her.

"You're resisting me now, senpai, just like I figured you would. And I've gotta say, you're putting up a really good fight~" Miku's smirk widened, giving her an even darker appearance. "But lemme tell you something, senpai... You _will_ be mine. I think it's cute how you're fighting me~ And I'm glad you are... After all... this is a fight worth winning... But... I'm not gonna give up 'til I get what I want, Luka-senpai~ And what I want is you~ You're gonna be mine, senpai. It's just a matter of time~"

She began to chuckle softly, careful to keep the sound quiet and her movements as still as possible. However, the movement of her shoulders was enough to dislodge a few strands of her long teal tresses and spill them over Luka's face. The pinkette groaned softly at the touch, and her eyes cracked open as Miku stared mutely.

_Uh oh._

Luka's sleep-fogged eyes slowly focused on her. Once she had registered the presence of Hatsune Miku above her_,_ she froze.

Miku remained as she was, not really sure what to do. Finally, she settled on saying, "...'Sup?"

Stare...

"Um..." Still not sure what to do, Miku grinned. "Good morning, senpai!"

Stare...

"Now, I know what this looks like..."

Even though she doubtless must have registered that they were both in a _very_ compromising position, Luka continued to stare, apparently frozen in shock.

"But you have my utmost and solemnest assurances that I was _totally_ not going to touch your boobs. Even though they're right in front of me. And are _very _tempting... Ehehe..." Miku began salivating a bit but woke up from her pervert mode trance once she felt the trail of blood dripping from her nose. "Er, oops, um... Crap, gotta wipe that away... Ahem, anyways, as you can see, I do have _some_ restraint!" She actually had the gall to sound proud of herself.

Stare...

"So like... yeah." Miku's proud grin went back to a blank expression.

A tense silence passed with the two girls staring at each other, still in a very compromising position. Presently, Miku looked down, seeing Luka's nearly bared goodies. Her blank expression gave way to a perverted grin, despite the life-threatening danger she was about to walk into, the trickle of blood at her nose resuming in its trek downwards.

"But since we're like this anyway, how about I just cop a _tiny_ feel?" Miku asked in a wheedling tone. She raised one hand to go for Luka's chest, eyes locked on her prize as she said, "Ehehe... I mean, just a teeny, tiny feel won't be so bad, ne-"

_WHACK!_

A fist had hit Hatsune Miku square in the nose, leaving her on the floor and clutching the offending spot as she let out muffled groans of pain. "Ow...! Ow...! Oh man, that hurt..."

"_Y-YOU... YOU __**IDIOT!**__"_ Luka screeched at the top of her lungs. She was now curled up defensively on her bed, arms folded protectively over her chest as she glared at the poor girl on the ground. To say that she was glaring daggers was a severe understatement. It would have been more fitting to say that she was glaring hard enough that she would have fired laser beams that would have vaporized the tealette on the spot, and then vaporized the vapors that Miku had become... but of course, that doesn't make any sense, and it also would have put a slight dampener on the story, seeing how it would have removed a central character, so altogether, it is fortunate that Megurine Luka was incapable of performing such a feat. So instead, she settled for continuing to scream. _**"LECHER! PERVERT! OGRE!"**_

Miku clutched her nose with one hand while raising her index finger above her head with the other. "I resent the last one. I like to think that I look much cuter than an ogre!"

**"**_**SHUT UP!" **_Luka shouted, her face red enough to shame the color red itself, though it was hard to say whether it were mostly from embarrassment or anger. _**"WHEN I WANT YOUR OPINION, I'LL BITCH SLAP IT OUT OF YOU!"**_

Miku looked up at her with suddenly sparkly eyes. "Oh my~ You have a slapping fetish too? Kyaa~ Senpai, you're such a sadist~~~!"

**"**_**SILENCE!"**_ Luka screeched. _**"PERVERTS LIKE YOU SHOULD JUST KEEP QUIET!"**_

Miku blushed, averting her eyes bashfully. "Aww... I know you're trying to insult me, but when you call me a pervert, it just makes me feel so- Oomph!"

Luka had silenced her with a foot to the face, still keeping her arms over her chest as she used her foot to grind Miku's head into the floor and snarled, _**"IT'S NOT A COMPLIMENT, YOU TWIT! IDIOT! MORON! LUNKHEAD! DELINQUENT!"**_

Despite having her face flattened by Luka's foot, Miku still had the gall to grin in a perverted manner. "Ehehe~~~ Oh God, Luka-senpai in sadist mode is just too hot! Punish your disobedient slave, my mistress! Oooh, I'm getting chills, ehehe~"

"_**STOP BEING TURNED ON, YOU RETARDED GIRL! MOU, I SHOULD JUST PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY, YOU DISGUSTING, TWISTED LITTLE PERVERT! DIE! DIE! DIE, DAMN YOU! **__**DIE!"**_

* * *

><p>Luka wrathfully shoveled her breakfast into her mouth, practically sawing the pancakes apart before eating them, and trying her best to ignore the gaze from the girl across from her. Hatsune Miku sat at her usual spot across the table from her, holding against her face an ice pack that Luka's mother had thoughtfully set out after hearing the racket upstairs, and occasionally taking sips of her orange juice. Despite the injuries she had sustained, the brat had the gall to smile as if she were the luckiest little pervert in the world. Well... it wasn't fair to call her <em>little<em> really... Luka had noticed before that Miku was only shorter than her by an inch, an inch and a half tops. But she was _definitely_ a pervert... _that_ went without saying. And right now, she just had this absolutely happy smile on her face, as if it were some kind of honor to be sitting across from her or something... irritating. So very irritating...

After swallowing down a mouthful of pancakes, she glared at her and growled, "What are you looking at?"

Miku's unflinching gaze focused on her eyes, calm teal meeting icy blue. She smiled innocently. "There's nothing wrong with looking, is there? A cat may look at a king, no?"

Luka scowled. The brat had a point. She huffed and shook her head. "Whatever. Do what you want."

Miku's smile widened. "Don't mind if I do!"

Luka returned to her breakfast. Irritating... She could tell that one day away from her certainly hadn't changed that stupid girl much. Not that she was expecting it would have; that would have been hoping for far too much. Miku kept staring, her lips still shaped into that god damn smile... She hated that smile. It wasn't that it was a crude or leering expression or anything. It was actually surprisingly gentle coming from the tealette. Soft... and with an expression in her eyes that matched it. Gentle, but intense... She hated it, not because of any particular quality in the expression, but because of what it was doing to her. Luka felt strangely nervous under that gaze. Not really uneasy, though... just... nervous. She fidgeted a little in her seat, taking another bite of her pancakes and painfully aware that Miku's eyes zeroed in on her lips as she did so. After she swallowed, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Wh-What...?" She wanted to slap herself at how weakly that came out, when it should have been a snappish, irritated response. What the crap was that?

"Hm?" Miku replied absently.

"Wh-Why do you keep staring at me like that...?"

Why the hell was she stammering!

"I like looking at you. You're pretty to look at," Miku replied honestly without once removing her eyes from their target.

"I'm just eating..." Luka said quietly. Was it hot in here or something? Her face felt like it was getting hotter... "I probably look disgusting..."

"Nah. I don't mind. Actually, I think you look really cute when you eat!" the tealette chirped.

What the... What kind of idiotic response was that? That deserved a scathing retort for sure. Luka opened her mouth to hiss acidly at her.

"...Do you... mean that...?"

...In the name of all that was holy and sacred, had she seriously just used that shy, vulnerable-sounding voice?

The tealette nodded and replied, "Un!"

Okay, like hell she was going to do it twice. This time, she would put her in her place! This time, it would go right! This time-!

"Th-Thanks... I guess..."

...she would sound just as stupidly shy and vulnerable and pitiful as the last time, holy crap, she must have been losing it, and why the _hell_ was this stupid house so damn hot at this hour? !

Miku's admittedly cute smile widened, that soft look in her eyes seemingly enhanced as she replied, "You're welcome~"

As Inner Luka did a double facepalm, Luka decided not to dig her own grave any deeper and spent the rest of the meal in silence, though she did wonder why her heart was pounding so hard in her chest...

* * *

><p>Aside from the mishaps at Luka's house, the rest of the meal and the walk to school passed relatively peacefully for the two girls. Luka trudged into her classroom, ignoring the tealette that waved frantically at her from the doorway, and her cheerful call of, "Bye-bye, senpai! See you at lunch!" In a flash, she was gone, leaving in her wake a dust cloud and a few unfortunate second years that had not been able to avoid the Miku Express and were subsequently trampled. Sighing, the pinkette made her way to her desk, not yet deigning to acknowledge Lily, who was tranquilly rocking her chair on the two hind legs, her feet propped up on her desk and her fingers laced behind her head.<p>

"Back to being escorted by your royal entourage, I see," Lily quipped idly. As she spoke, she shot a knowing wink at a boy who had been trying to peek up her skirt, only to be disappointed to see that Lily was wearing black shorts underneath her skirt. The abashed boy quickly turned his eyes down at the textbook he had out, ostensibly reviewing his notes. She snickered lightly at his expense.

"Shut up," Luka growled absently.

Lily blinked, eyeing Luka out of the corners of her eyes. She was packing a lot less venom today than usual. "Something happen with Miku-chan today?"

To her surprise and amusement, Luka flinched. She slammed her fists into the table and stood up, towering over her friend and her face burning bright red. "Wh-Wh-Why on earth would it have anything do with h-her?" she demanded. "J-Just because that pest is always barging into my house does not mean every single change in my mood is related to her!"

The unexpectedly vehement response actually stunned Lily into silence. But as much as she wanted to hear more, from what she saw out of the corners of her eyes, the interrogation would have to wait. "Uhh... Luka..." Lily tried to interject, giving her a placating look.

"Y-You're always jumping to these unreasonable conclusions!" Luka shouted, fists balled at her sides. Apparently, she had not heard. "Sh-She's just some stupid girl! That's all! That's all there is to it!"

"Hime-sama? If I may be so bold as to interject?" Lily asked timidly, raising her hand.

"_**NO**__, YOU MAY __**NOT!**__"_ Luka snapped. _"BE SILENT! I'M RANTING HERE! DON'T INTERRUPT ME!"_

"But... hime-sama...?"

"_**WHAT?"**_ Luka snarled. The blush hadn't gone away.

Smiling awkwardly, Lily used her raised hand to gesture toward the class. The pinkette looked, and her mask of rage instantly evaporated as she realized that every student in the classroom was looking at her, along with the teacher. "Um..." the teacher asked, shifting uncomfortably. "May... we begin?"

Luka flushed an even deeper shade of red. She bowed deeply, muttering humbly, "Y-Yes, of course... Please forgive me for my outburst..."

She slid into her seat, looking down and apparently trying to shrink into herself. An amused smile tugged at Lily's mouth but she decided to let Luka off the hook and not interrogate her. As she looked around discreetly at the other students, she could see them all exchanging glances with each other. She could tell that they were all surprised at Luka's complete loss of composure. As one of her closest friends, Lily had seen Luka lose face before, but if she could help it, she never did it in public (of course, in the case of a horror movie, all bets were off). This, she thought, was a _very_ interesting development, and to this end, she whipped out her notebook and began to jot down a few quick notes. Yes... This was a _very_ interesting development in the saga between the Ice Princess and her persistent admirer... Truthfully, she was astonished that Miku was able to have this sort of effect on her. She'd not imagined for even a second that Miku would actually have any sort of real chance, given how Luka always kept those damn ice barriers up around her heart. Lily wasn't entirely sure where Miku stood with Luka, but one way or another, there was _definitely_ signs of progress. She'd always thought it'd be a good idea for the pinkette to make some new friends but here... Here was the opportunity for something _really_ juicy.

She grinned privately. _Keep up the good work, Miku-chan~_

* * *

><p>Downstairs, in one of the first year classrooms, Hatsune Miku sneezed before grumpily wiping her nose.<p>

"Damn dust," she groused. Whoever had cleaned up the classroom on Friday had seriously done a piss-poor job...

* * *

><p>When the lunch bell rang, the seat that Hatsune Miku occupied during her classes emptied in a very big hurry. Rin and Len coughed and did their best to wave away the dust from the cloud Miku left in her wake. "Sometimes, it amazes me that she doesn't melt the linoleum," Rin muttered as she grabbed her lunch.<p>

"Kinda amazes me too!" Gumi said. She adjusted her trademark red goggles back onto her head, fiddling with them until they were exactly where she wanted them to be. Satisfied, she plucked her own bento out of her book bag and stood up. "Well, guess we should follow." Glancing down at Neru, who sat next to her, she asked, "Neru-chan, care to join us?"

Before the invitation had even been given, everyone knew exactly what Neru would say, confirmed when she replied with an absent, "I'll pass." She took her own lunch out of her book bag and walked off alone, eyes never leaving her cell phone as usual.

"One of these days, I should find out just _where_ that girl goes," Gumi mused aloud, cupping her chin in the crook between the index finger and thumb of her free hand.

"I'm sure she has a good reason for wanting to be alone." Even as Rin said that, she sounded a little dubious.

Ever since she, Miku, and Len had befriended Akita Neru, the cell phone-obsessed girl had always been a quiet, solitary type, to the point of practically being anti-social. As far as they all knew, she was about as bad as Luka-senpai for how distant she was from people, possibly even worse considering that Luka at least ate lunch with her friends (and had by now grudgingly accepted that Miku was a part of their group). Neru would still stalk off on her own somewhere, and they wouldn't see her again until it was time for class, where she would wander in, eyes still fixed on her cell phone as usual, and then take her seat as if nothing was wrong. And really, nothing was wrong about what she did, but it did definitely pique their curiosity. Just not enough to follow her, seeing how Miku tended to be more entertaining... well, at least Gumi thought she was.

Well, it wasn't like they were Neru's keepers, so what she did was her business, they supposed. With a round of shrugs that they usually exchanged after Neru would decline their offer for lunch as usual, they headed out to follow the path of destruction and Hurricane Miku had wrought. Already, they were able to hear the sounds of a happy tealette crying, "Luka-senpaaai! I missed you!" along with a familiar pinkette shouting back, _**"G-G-GET OFF OF ME, YOU STUPID GIRL! STOP DOING THIS EVERY SINGLE DAY! MOU!"**_

* * *

><p>The library was quiet except for the clicking and beeping of Neru's cell phone, as well as her chewing on her sandwich. Rather than taking a seat at one of the desks, Neru preferred sitting on the floor between the book-laden shelves, using a shelf to prop up her back. She'd gotten bored with trolling people's text mailboxes and had fired up one of the new games she had downloaded. Good thing cell phone technology had improved so much so quickly; she'd quickly grown bored with making ring tones on her old phone, even if she'd been a pro at making music with it. She paused the game as she briefly set her phone down to pick up her juice box and take a sip. Satisfied, Neru glanced around at the shelves.<p>

The library wasn't exactly her first choice for a hangout, but it suited her purposes fine. She didn't think of herself as anti-social, but she didn't particularly like human contact much. It was much too troublesome to be constantly around people and mingling and talking about subjects that she had absolutely no interest in and pretending to be interested and all that other garbage. Here, she was isolated for a precious hour before she was forced to return to her class, which wasn't _so_ bad when she considered that she'd at least be able to be with her friends. But honestly, even being with her friends for too long rather exhausted her, what with Gumi and Miku tag teaming with enough energy to fuel a large, technologically advanced country for at least a year. She didn't think of herself as a particularly lazy person, but she just preferred to take things at a slow, leisurely pace, if only because that afforded her more time to just get around to something when she felt like it. She'd always been that way, as far as she knew.

Besides, today she kind of needed the solitude, but on the other hand, this probably wasn't the best choice to have gone. She looked around at the shelves.

This was the place where she had first met Masuda Lily-senpai. The older girl didn't remember, as far as she could tell, which was fine. Neru had needed to come in here to grab a book for some stupid report they needed to do for their Japanese literature class. The book she needed had just _had_ to be up on a shelf out of her reach. Even jumping, her fingers wouldn't even _graze_ the thing, and she had glared darkly up at it for its kind and highly unnecessary reminder to her that, yes, she was pretty damn short. She'd fumed under her breath and had even contemplated climbing up onto the shelf to try to get to her prize (and had briefly even toyed with the idea of wall-jumping up to it, but had known she wasn't athletic enough for that).

* * *

><p><strong>Months ago...<strong>

"God..."

Hop.

"Freaking..."

Hop.

"Damn..."

Hop. This time, Neru remained as she was, glaring up at her nemesis. Then she tried to claw her way up, flailing up at the book, snarling obscenities all the while. As usual, her fingers couldn't even brush against the cover, but this time, a slender hand reached up and seized it. Neru blinked, but was not given much time to look before she was grabbed around the waist.

"Get yourself down from there before you hurt yourself," a sleepy voice said in a grumpy tone.

Too shocked to flail and rage, she allowed herself to be set down on the ground. Neru turned to face the person who had taken her book, who took the liberty of shoving the book in her face. She accepted it and got a good look at her, taking in the long blonde hair, and the ocean-blue eyes that were clouded with sleep, the girl rubbing at her eyes with her free hand.

"Next time get a stepping stool or something..." she yawned.

"Uh..."

"Don't bother thanking me or nothing," she grumbled. She turned away, walking away, shaking her head. Neru was barely able to hear her grousing under her breath, "Shit, can't even go to the library to take a nap anymore..."

Neru stared after her for a while before shrugging. "Thanks, I guess," she muttered.

What an ass... But she supposed she owed her that much at least.

* * *

><p>Neru felt the senpai who had welcomed her into the journalism club had been perhaps <em>too<em> enthusiastic, but offered at least a civil smile and followed her senpai. She listened to him babbling about what they did and the like, though she honestly didn't care. She was really only here just so she could say that she'd been in a club. It helped for college admissions, after all, and journalism seemed painless enough. But she was left blinking when she saw just who they'd stopped in front of: Neru instantly recognized her as the blonde girl that had helped her (very grouchily, she might add) in the library.

"And this is Masuda Lily-san!" the club member she'd been following said. "She'll be the one showing you the ropes and stuff around here!" To the blonde, who was sitting in her chair in a relaxed posture, tipping her head to the side curiously, he said, "This is Akita Neru-san. Go easy on her, Masuda-san, alright?"

Lily waved him off, smiling at the slight note of warning in his voice. "Geez, that was just that _one_ time, okay? Don't worry, I won't scare anyone off anymore."

He glared at her dubiously but shrugged and walked away, giving Neru a polite smile. "We're glad to have you onboard with us, Akita-san!"

Neru nodded to him and turned back to the girl, who was now fixing her with a measuring glance. "So, you're the rookie, eh?" she asked coolly, her tone so casual that it was almost insulting, yet not.

Not about to be outcooled, the younger blonde replied, "Looks like it."

"Hm." Lily looked her up and down. "Works for me. But y'know, you do realize that as an underclassman, you gotta listen to what your senpais say, ne?"

Neru tensed slightly at noticing the devilish gleam in those blue eyes. Cautiously, she nodded.

"Good! Then in that case, Akita-chan, I want you to be my footstool."

"...Excuse me?"

Lily grinned, just the slightest touch of evil in her voice as she said, "Just like it sounds, sweetheart. Come a little closer. I feel like putting my feet up for a bit~"

Neru stared at her, her left eye twitching. Now why in the fuck would this idiot think she'd reduce herself to something like... Just as her angry thought was going to start snowballing, she paused, remembering the incident at the library. She may not have remembered, but Neru did and... well, she hated leaving debts unpaid... She began to snarl and swear under her breath, cursing why she had to be afflicted with a sense of honor as she lowered herself onto all fours in front of the blonde bitch sitting on her chair, and who actually had the gall to look surprised. Hesitantly, Lily set her feet onto Neru's back and resumed relaxing, occasionally stealing glances down at the younger girl's scowl...

* * *

><p><strong>Present...<strong>

A faint smile tugged at a corner of Neru's mouth. Definitely not stellar initial meetings in the least... But she'd quickly grown fond of Lily-senpai. She was a fun-loving, teasing sort that loved pushing people's buttons, but never went to the point of truly hurting anyone if she could help it. Once she'd discovered how sensitive Neru was about her sizes and her height, she quickly took those off of her list of things to tease about. She was a good friend of hers, she'd admit. It wasn't in Neru's nature to admit to such things, but Lily was an important person to her. While Neru herself never really wrote much for the journalism club, she was very good at taking dictation, as well as proving a good source of information, especially for Lily's latest obsession with Megurine-senpai and Miku. She'd never admit to it out loud, but it had made her feel good to be useful to Lily, even if she was really scary in obsessive journalist mode...

Neru finished off her juice, staring absently ahead of herself. She genuinely liked hanging out with Lily, much like how she enjoyed being with Miku and the others. She hadn't really thought much on it before, truthfully; Neru had simply taken it for granted that, since they were close, she didn't mind being with her, and would like her company. It was only natural; hell, even if she didn't like other people much, she couldn't be anti-social all the time, right?

But her reaction yesterday at Gumi's house had alarmed her. She scowled, a light tinge of embarrassment on her cheeks. While she didn't try to keep herself coldly composed like how Megurine-senpai did, Neru had always prided herself on always being in control of herself. The whole bit had just been... completely out of her hands. Once Miku had made that absent comment about the character in the hentai anime looking like Lily, it had just driven Neru into a downward spiral until finally she'd started slamming her head into the wall (and her head was still a bit tender from that). She shook her head at herself. God... she didn't know why the hell that had happened...

...Well, no, she _did_ know. Neru sighed at herself. She'd had a crush on Lily-senpai for a while now, an offshoot from the respect and admiration she held for her, she supposed. It would probably fade with time, and because of that, she had no intentions of ever confessing. It... well, she hated admitting it, but it felt kind of nice. Her heart would beat a little bit faster and she'd feel a little bit warmer inside whenever Lily would flash her one of her trademark jaunty grins, or whenever she got that _gleam_ in her eye. Lily's occasional head pats when she was feeling particularly affectionate always felt good too. It didn't really bother her that she had a crush on a girl; she'd heard of plenty of people having crushes on the same gender, and sometimes those would just be phases, just one particular person, or in some cases, just a personal preference. Big deal. Neru had never really cared one way or another, so it didn't matter to her at all. For her, it was just enough to be near her and just feel the light fluttering of her heart. It was a nice feeling, and probably would be a nice feeling she'd remember when she finally let her confused feelings go. She had no intentions of ever admitting to it other than to herself; the better to control it.

Still... the violent reaction had alarmed her. She knew that Masuda Lily was an attractive young woman. A lot of boys drooled over her, and Lily was aware of it, often having a little fun with it by offering teasing glimpses up her skirt, which always resulted in nothing, since she always wore shorts underneath. It probably wasn't too much of a stretch to think there were girls attracted to Lily too. Neru knew, and she wasn't ever bothered by it. Yet... somehow seeing the images from that hentai and replacing Lily in there had just... It had flipped a switch in her.

Neru sighed, shaking her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose. That was just a one time deal, she promised herself… How embarrassing... Though at the same time, she was having trouble identifying just _what_ exactly had made her snap like that...

She glanced down at her watch, noticing that it was almost time for class. Some other time. She'd think about it some other time.

...Maybe.

* * *

><p>"So, you still haven't told me just why you were so grouchy this morning, hime-sama."<p>

Luka sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She should have known better than to believe she was off the hook. Masuda Lily was like an attack dog when it came to her "scoops", as she so lovingly dubbed them. She was just utterly relentless... any thoughts that she had actually backed off was nothing more than false hope. Her shoulders slumped as she turned a glare on the blonde. It was free study period now, which Luka was looking forward to less and less everyday now that she thought about it, and the blonde was grinning over at her, propping her chin up with one fist as she fixed her with a sly twinkle dancing in her eyes. She pursed her lips. Even if she knew that she was cornered, she was going to kick and scream the whole way to defeat, damn it all.

"I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Luka bit out in a clipped tone. She turned back to her homework, even knowing this was nothing but delaying the inevitable.

"Ah, is that so? That does suck, your highness. But... must say it's a little disappointing," the blonde sighed. "Here I was hoping it was cuz you hadn't gotten your good morning kiss from Miku-chan..."

Lily's eyes darted over to Luka, already anticipating the angry scowl that had no doubt already been etched onto her friend's face. What she saw instead surprised her. Luka looked stricken, her face bright red and... A Cheshire Cat grin broke out on Lily's face. "No way! She did?"

"Wh-Wh-What?" Luka whirled a wild gaze onto her.

"She kissed you, didn't she?"

"WHAT? NO! Absolutely not!" Luka exclaimed. "L-Like I would ever let that idiot do that! I wouldn't be caught dead letting her do anything, that sneaky, stupid little pervert! Just because she crawls into my bed and tries to-"

"She what?"

It occurred to Luka that she had made a deadly mistake, and the sudden appearance of Lily's notebook and pen only seemed to confirm this. Lily was staring hard at her, an eager grin threatening to rip her face in two. "Go on," she encouraged.

Luka glowered mightily at her, but her blush did not abate and thus rendered this expression ineffectual as well. The lack of effect was quite obvious, as Lily waved her hand in a "Go on" type of gesture, adding, "No, really, go on."

"She doesn't do anything!" Luka snarled. "She just wakes me up in the mornings in the most annoying ways! That's all!"

Lily frowned. "Eh? That's boring... Here I was hoping she'd try to molest you or take pictures of you while you're changing..."

"Wh-What? Why on earth would you hope for that, you sicko? And I would absolutely not let her do that! I'd rather let her kiss me like she tried to this morning and-"

"Aha!" Lily shouted triumphantly. The devious gleam in her eye told Luka that she had walked right into the trap her friend had set out for her. "So she did kiss you, eh? What kinda lip balm does she use? That changes up the tastes quite a bit, actually! Is she a good kisser? I'm guessing she made the first move? And-"

"I said she _tried_ to, you moron!" Luka screeched, her voice becoming shrill with embarrassment. "Properly listen to me when I'm saying something, you idiot! Mou! Do you only listen to every other word I say?"

"Every so often," Lily replied flippantly whilst scribbling into her notebook.

Luka's nose scrunched with displeasure, balefully eyeing the pen and idly wondering if she could will the pages to burst into flames if she tried hard enough. Apparently not. "I don't see why you're so excited about this," she sniffed. "It's not like anyone hasn't tried to kiss me before."

"This is true," Lily replied, eyes still focused on the page as she continued jotting down her Lily-fied version of what she'd just heard from the pinkette (and since it wasn't something she could publish, it would probably end up sounding a hundred times worse than what had actually happened). "But, if I may be so bold, your majesty (Luka's acidic response of "You may _not_" was wholeheartedly ignored)..." Lily finished writing what she wanted as she clicked her pen shut and replaced it into its perch at her chest pocket. "This is the first time you've ever been affected in a way that was not pure rage."

"What the hell are you on about?" Luka hissed icily. "If you're trying to say I actually liked it, then-"

"You said it, not me," Lily interrupted. She grinned unabashedly, knowing she was goading Luka and that she could quite possibly take a very nasty punch to the face for her insolence.

"I don't know why I even bother talking to you," the Ice Princess said venomously. As the teacher for their next class walked in, she flipped her hair over her shoulder with a very irritated and dismissive "Hmph!"

Lily put away her notebook for later, smirking. Ah, why was Luka so fun to tease?

_Oh, that's right,_ she thought. _It's cuz she's way too serious~_

Mentally, Lily reviewed what this had revealed about Luka. Nothing too much, unless one knew what to look for, and even then, not much... But what she saw could possibly be something rather significant in the near future. She knew what had become of Luka's previous suitors that had dared try to kiss her. While not to the point of the three third years that had tried to assault her last year, all of them had walked away with bruised egos, and even more bruised bodies. Granted, it wasn't like Hatsune Miku hadn't sustained more than her fair share of injuries herself. If she were given an American dollar for every time she saw Miku with some kind of bandage because of some royally inflicted injury or another, she would have collected herself a handsome chunk of change by now. But she found it impressive that even despite Luka's legendary coldness and her violent behavior, Miku continued to pursue her without any loss in enthusiasm or determination. And that aside, it seemed that Luka was actually affected by Miku-chan. She gleefully jotted down a few more notes, things that she would doubtless be publishing into her next article.

Lily let a smile tug at a corner of her mouth while pretending to be interested in the textbook she had just opened. Well, whether the tealette knew it or not, she could count Lily among her supporters... if only because she was making everything _so _interesting…

She snickered darkly under her breath.

_Ah, I'm so bad..._

A church bell tolled ominously in the distance.

* * *

><p>"Y'know," Miku remarked, tipping her head to the side after hearing the church bell. "That's been happening a lot lately."<p>

* * *

><p>Chapter 6 End<p>

* * *

><p>There were times I thought I'd <em>never<em> finish this chapter... But I did it, so yay...! I guess XD;;;

No review responses this time, I think I'm about to drop dead already. XP But I do appreciate all your reviews, and I hope you guys like this one too! Lemme know if you do, and I'll catch ya guys next time! ^_^v


	7. Chapter 7

So like... I've given up hope on ever being able to update once a week. XD I'm hoping I can keep updates once every two weeks at max though. We shall see. XP Thanks for all the reviews! And I actually noticed I'd broken 100 reviews sometime ago (yes, I'm slow XP). Thank you to all of you! Here's the latest chapter, hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Last I checked, I do not own the Vocaloids. *checks again* Dammit, still don't own them...

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

* * *

><p>Luka's eyebrow twitched in time with the tennis ball as she bounced it against the ground.<p>

Once.

Twice.

Across from her, another member of the girls' tennis club offered her an awkward, sympathetic smile. Luka sighed, feeling the two sets of laser beams on her body, _especially_ on her ass... She tucked a few rebellious strands of pink hair not in her ponytail behind her ear. Tossing the ball lightly into the air, she smacked it hard with her racket. This action apparently sent her skirt flying up, as it was quickly followed by two voices howling enthusiastically.

"_WHOOHOO!"_

"_OH __**YEAH!**__"_

Whirling, Luka screamed with red-faced embarrassment at the two perverts in the stands, _**"WILL YOU TWO CUT THAT OUT ALREADY? !"**_

"Kyaa~! Luka-senpai's indignant face is sooo cute!" Snapshot. Snapshot. Snapshot.

The tealette and her green-haired companion continued howling with absolutely no apology, so it was pretty safe to say that was her answer. She grumbled darkly under her breath before facing her opponent, who was still flashing her that same awkward, sympathetic smile. Luka only sighed in reply, her expression asking God or whatever deity was responsible for this why she deserved not one but _two _all-star perverts. At least Gumi would devour the members of both tennis clubs equally (and she made the boys just as uncomfortable as the girls); the weight of Miku's stare just seemed to get heavier and heavier, much to her distress... And she _knew _that stupid girl was taking snapshots of her too, damn her godless soul. As her partner prepared to serve, Luka got into a ready position, which unfortunately required bending down a little bit... She turned redder at the intensifying gaze she felt aimed at her butt.

_That stupid girl..._

It must have been a miracle that her skirt hadn't erupted into flames by this point... The pinkette uncomfortably tugged the hem of her skirt as low as she could, but with those two, especially _her_, around, it neverfelt low enough...

And to think, it wasn't that long ago that she'd thought the skirt lengths were fine...

* * *

><p>"C'mon," Miku wheedled under her breath, the image on her camera showing a tantalizing view of Luka's killer thighs and her white tennis skirt. The hem was <em>just <em>low enough to conceal her panties from view, much to Miku's dismay. She tried to lower herself enough to get a view; just a _tiny _sliver would be fine! "Dammit, just a _little _more!" she begged.

"If only their skirts were an inch shorter," Gumi lamented, though she still eyed all of them anyway.

"Yeah... But oh well, this is fine too, I guess. Ooh, Luka-senpai, your ass is so nice and round..." Miku's perverted leer intensified another few notches as she started to salivate. "If she bends down any further, I'm gonna have to get down there and spank her... Ehehe~"

Beside the two perverts, Rin sighed wearily. While it was nice to have company instead of waiting all alone in the stands, the blonde could not help but feel like she could have done with more _normal _company, rather than these two... Aiming a disapproving glare at them out of the corners of her eyes, she returned her attention again to the courts.

Out of the three, Rin had been coming to the tennis club practices the longest, ever since Len had joined the tennis club practically at the beginning of the year. It wasn't that the younger twin had a particular fondness for the sport; they just happened to be the first club in sight when he was making a desperate effort to join a club, hoping to avoid the rampaging horde known as the sewing club. From what Rin learned from her brother, they apparently thought he would be a perfect model for the frilly dresses they were planning on making and had been attempting to forcibly conscript him. And while she thought it was an amusing thought, Len had obviously not shared her sentiment. Nevertheless, as a good sister and as a student who was not a member of any clubs, Rin would attend the practices to act as a moral support for Len. After all, even if it was an older sibling's right and privilege to bully her younger sibling, she couldn't be evil all the time. She didn't like the idea of walking home alone either (she imagined she was spoiled because the Kagamine twins used to do everything together, and even to this day still tried to do as many things as they could together), so there wasn't much of a choice. Not that this was all bad: there were some cute guys on the boys' tennis club, and so she'd get her fill of eye candy too.

Look like a good older sibling _and _get eye candy? That was win-win in her books, and win-win just happened to be Rin's favorite outcome.

It stopped being lonely when Miku finally acted on her crush on Megurine-senpai. While it was nice to be in the company of her best friend, Miku was pretty scary when it came to the Ice Princess she loved so much. It rather mystified her, actually... Years ago, she'd had a crush on Len, but it had been a very tame crush. Perhaps it was just because she was older now? Rin wasn't sure. What she was absolutely sure about, however, was that somehow, these two were going to land themselves in jail. Well, Miku might not, since Luka had yet to do anything but sock her a good one every so often (actually, quite often); Gumi had no such limits. She eyed the two perverts, her blue eyes radiating disapproval.

"Y'know, normally, perverts prefer hidden cameras and at least _some_ semblance of subtlety," she said reproachfully.

Gumi replied airily, "Now, now, Rin-chan. It's like a museum! I'm not touching anything; I am merely observing and appreciating that which is placed before me for my viewing pleasure! (_What,_ was the only thing that went through Rin's head at this.) There's no harm in looking, is there? Although, you might be onto something with mentioning hidden cam- Whoa! String panties on that chick! Whoohoo! Flash those sexy undies, baby!" Gumi wolf-whistled very loudly to top it all off.

A sweatdrop ran down the side of Rin's head. Well, she supposed, what more did she expect from a girl who could watch a hentai in front of her friends as if she were watching a boring gum commercial on television? This wasn't to say she found Gumi detestable. She was friendly enough, and was a lot like Miku when she was actually being a bit more normal. Just... a tad disturbing... The interrogation at her house earlier in the week when she was trying to see if she secretly wanted to get into Len's pants or vice versa stood as a classic example.

Rather, Rin found Miku to be much more disconcerting. One of the things that she and Miku had in common was that they were both perverted. The older Kagamine, however, was more of a closet pervert, discreetly checking out guys that she thought were hot, and occasionally entertaining a fantasy or two. In secret, of course. Miku, however, was on Gumi's level, and was equally unrepentant. She glanced at her friend, who was eyeing the pink-haired princess as if she were a giant hunk of exquisitely cooked steak and Miku hadn't eaten in a month. She'd known Miku since they were in elementary school but... she'd never known her to be so... _scary._ Then again... she'd never seen Miku crush on anybody like this before. Miku's old crush on Len, which had been back in late elementary school now that she about it, hadn't been anywhere near this level.

She knew for a fact she didn't find it disturbing because Miku was crushing on a girl. Yes, it had been a bit of a head-scratcher at first, but she quickly grew used to and accepted it; it wasn't like it changed the fact that they were friends, practically sisters, really. It was just her behavior that was unnerving. Sometimes, Rin wondered just what _exactly _it was that her best friend wanted out of a relationship with Megurine Luka. Well, besides the obvious.

Rin followed the eyes of the teal-haired pervert to look at Megurine Luka-senpai, who was taking a breather before getting ready for her serve. They had a good side profile view of her, so Rin was able to rake her eyes over the Ice Princess. Yeah, she was definitely gorgeous; that couldn't be denied. Rin stared jealously at Luka's killer legs, her admittedly nice ass, her graceful curves, her silky pink hair... her jealously peaked as it fixated on her ample breasts. Now _that_ was a category that Rin would never be able to match her in, she thought dismally. The Kagamine twins had apparently inherited a gene from their parents that prevented them from being anything but rail-thin. On one hand, this was a blessing. While other girls her age needed to count calories and worry about strictly adhering to some fad diet or another to lose weight, or even just to stay at their current weight levels, Rin could scarf down all the greasy junk food and soda that she wanted and not worry about gaining so much as a pound, an advantage also enjoyed by her twin.

On the other hand, this was a curse. No matter how much milk Rin chugged down, and no matter how many exercises or massages she did that were supposed to help her bust size graduate out of the same class as tabletops, she remained as soul-crushingly flat as ever. Likewise, no matter how much protein Len devoured and no matter how much iron he would (horribly and pathetically attempt but ultimately fail to) pump, his muscles never grew any bigger. It didn't help either that they remained short too. The two would often grumble darkly to each other that if they ever got significant others, they would end up getting them repeatedly arrested for crimes against a minor.

Rin thrust aside these dark thoughts for the moment (though she did steal a final jealous glare at Luka's chest...). Looking at her as objectively as she could, she couldn't see what was so great about her. Yes, she was beautiful. Yes, she was intelligent. Yes, she was athletic. And hell yes, she was sexy. But also, _yes_, she was incredibly cold and bitchy and violent. This wouldn't have bothered her so much if it weren't for the fact that it was Miku who was getting beat up on a regular basis. And no matter how often it happened, Miku never strayed, simply shaking off her injuries with a cheerful million-watt smile and a happy chirp in her voice. She wasn't willing to write off the possibility that there really was something her best friend saw in her that she couldn't see somehow. It was a very real possibility, since Miku was usually much better at reading people than she was.

Then again, it was equally possible that Miku was just bat-shit insane.

"Guess they're done with practice!" Miku chirped suddenly. Without any further warning, she hopped up from her seat and made her way down to the court. The two other girls stood up, Gumi grinning from ear to ear as she looked through the collection she had amassed for today with her camera, Rin eyeing the tealette's back with exasperation.

"I really don't know what she sees in her," she muttered, shaking her head.

"Luka-san isn't so bad, Rin-chan!" Gumi piped up, still flipping through her pictures as she picked up her book bag. "She's a good person when you get to know her; she just doesn't like having people under her guard, that's all. Mm-mm, this is one for the highlight reel!" Gumi leered at a particularly nice picture.

"I guess," Rin conceded with a reluctant sigh. "I just don't like seeing Miku-chan get beat up like that, that's all."

The green-haired girl laughed heartily. "Yeah, I'd rather she not get beat up so much too. But I guess whatever she's doing is working."

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

"Well," she began, turning off her camera with a smile of satisfaction and replacing it into her book bag. "I dunno Luka-san like how Gaku-nii-chan does, but we both can tell Miku-chan's making some progress. You can tell if you've been around her long enough. Who knows? Miku-chan might actually get what she wants. That'd definitely be something!"

"Is that so?" Rin murmured dubiously. She turned her gaze down toward her friend and the pink-haired object of her affections, noting the slight tint of color in Luka's face as she grumbled something she couldn't hear. Nevertheless, Miku was cheerfully dabbing her forehead with a towel, and Luka was definitely letting her.

"Huh, never really thought of it that way," Rin said.

"I don't blame ya. C'mon, let's get down there," Gumi said. The two girls made their way down the stands and headed onto the tennis court. Flashing the blonde a broad smile over her shoulder, Gumi added, "But y'know, I get a feeling things are gonna get _really _interesting around here!"

"What makes you say that?" Rin asked, tipping her head to the side.

"I dunno!" the green-haired girl chirped, her cheer hardly dampened by her response. "Call it a woman's intuition! But..." She flashed her a grin tinted with mischief. "I like the idea of it, that's for sure!"

* * *

><p>Luka averted her eyes, arms folded over her chest as Miku continued dabbing away the sweat from her forehead, Luka's face tinted a light pink. She had no idea why she allowed this to go on... at all.<p>

She mumbled, "You don't have to do this every time I practice, you know..."

Miku predictably replied with a million-watt smile. "I know," she chirped. "I don't do it cuz I have to; I do it cuz I like you, senpai!"

Luka shifted uncomfortably, feeling her heart pounding harder. This was getting much too frequent for her tastes. By now, she'd figured out that this had nothing to do with health complications or anything. As she had figured out over the course of the week, this was _definitely _only happening in the idiot's presence. Not that this little fact made it any easier to figure out what it was; she just knew that despite everything, it wasn't really a negative emotion (though she didn't like the idea of her face feeling so hot all the time... that felt more like a damn fever). And it _definitely _had intensified when Miku had told her that she liked her. It wasn't like it was an uncommon occurrence, seeing how the idiot felt the need to remind her all the time.

_Stupid girl..._ she thought. _Just because you forget all the time doesn't mean that I've forgotten you've told me that..._

She blinked, feeling something on her skin that was not the fluffy white towel that Miku never seemed to forget on her tennis practice days. Luka looked over at Miku, freezing in place when she saw that the tealette had replaced the towel with her fingers.

"Wh-Wh-What are you doing!" Luka demanded, too frozen with shock to move.

Miku grinned. "Ah, sorry," she said, in a decidedly unapologetic tone. "I couldn't help it. Y'know, that little sweaty sheen on your skin makes you look _really _erotic, ehehe..."

Luka's face burst into flames. Shoving her, she snarled, "S-S-S-Stupid girl! God, you're such a pervert! Get lost already!" With that, she turned on her heel and began to stomp off toward the locker rooms, remembering to grab her racket on the way.

Behind her, Miku cocked her head to the side. How interesting. She'd been fully expecting to get punched or kicked or _something..._ A smirk tugged on her lips. How nice that this was all going so much quicker than she'd thought...

_Just a little more..._

"Wow, I thought you were about to get socked for sure."

Miku turned to acknowledge the two walking up to her, smiling brightly at Rin and Gumi. "Yeah, I know. Senpai's usually so much more violent than that."

Gumi cupped her chin, her features composed into a thoughtful expression. "Hmm... This can only be a sign..." She flashed Miku two thumbs up signs along with a million-watt smile. "Good job!"

Rin shook her head wearily, but smiled nevertheless. She supposed it was only natural for a good friend to be supportive.

Miku returned Gumi's thumbs up gestures, flashing a million-watt smile of her own. "I wonder if it's a sign that next time she'll let me lick the sweat off of her! Ooh, that's kinda dirty, isn't it?"

A scream of _**"YOU GOD DAMN PERVERT!"**_ was the only warning she had before a racket was hurled at high speed toward the back of her head. By some distortion of the laws of physics, the racket was able to ricochet off of Miku's head, slam into Gumi's, then into Rin's, and then continue repeatedly bouncing all over between the three victims in a fashion much akin to a pinball until it finally ran out of steam and dropped to the ground. Shortly after, the three girls followed suit, each of them sporting numerous head injuries and in a great deal of agony.

A fair distance away, a miffed Ice Princess flipped her pink hair over her shoulder with a dismissive "Hmph!" and continued on her way.

Miku groaned in pain. "I... totally deserved that..."

Gumi groaned in pain. "I... may have deserved that..."

Rin groaned in pain, anime river tears streaming comically down her face. "I... didn't deserve that..."

* * *

><p>It had been years since Furukawa Miki had lived in this neighborhood. She'd moved away when she was seven years old, but it came as a relief to her that the neighborhood hadn't changed much. It was nice to be back in this neighborhood again. The town she'd moved from had been alright, but she had always liked this place better, though she wouldn't dismiss the possibility that was simply fond memories giving her a biased opinion. Well, if there was one thing she definitely liked better about this town, it was the uniforms! She eyed two girls walking the opposite direction from her, one with teal hair and the other with pink, and both wearing the navy blue and white sailor uniform of Yamaha High School (she briefly noted the pink-haired girl seemed displeased yet not about the teal-haired girl's company). Miki thought of her own uniform at home, newly arrived and ready for her to wear for school on Monday. Oh sure, the uniforms at her old school were cute too; she was rather fond of the blazer, skirt, and tie combo. But she felt that sailor uniforms were so much cuter!<p>

It is worthy of some note to mention that Furukawa Miki's priorities when it came to her education were a bit off.

She stepped into the grocery store, a light skip in her step as she picked up a basket and began looking for things to buy for tonight's dinner. Her ahoge swayed lightly with every step she took, twitching a bit more excitedly as she hungrily eyed the cherries in the fresh produce aisle before she managed to get herself back on track.

"Yosh, I'll make chicken curry tonight!" she declared quietly to herself. Might as well stick to what she knew!

Filled with newfound determination, as if buying the ingredients for chicken curry were some sort of epic quest line in a video game, she turned the corner to go to where the chicken was. She'd been turning the corner so fast in her eagerness that she almost ran into someone.

"Ack!"

Luckily, the person she almost ran into reacted quickly and retreated a step just before they would have collided. Miki stepped back and bowed repeatedly, exclaiming, "I-I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and-"

"Chill, nothing happened," came the casual reply. The person was a girl also in a Yamaha High school uniform. She grinned easily at her and proceeded on her way, saying, "Be careful, yeah?"

"Y-Yes!" Miki bowed one more time before she turned to face forward, inwardly berating herself for her clumsiness. But just as she was about to take a step forward, she paused. She turned around, seeing the girl walking on her way, waist-length blonde hair swaying from side to side with every step she took. She turned a corner, her silky flaxen locks following behind until they too were out of sight. Miki blinked, her questioning gaze fixed on where the girl had been and her ahoge hesitantly forming a question mark over her head.

"Onee... chan...?"

* * *

><p>Lily opened the door to her apartment and stepped in, absently calling out, "I'm home." There was no answer, as usual. It was hard to get a response at all when there was no one else at home. She shut the door behind her and headed to the kitchen, where she set down her small bag of groceries. Said groceries pretty much amounted to a stockpile of instant yakisoba and ramen, and a (rather large) handful of snacks. It probably would have been more to her benefit to actually cook her own meals and at least attempt to eat healthier, but frankly speaking, she couldn't be bothered to do so. In fact, if Lily had to be honest, there were a lot of things that she couldn't be bothered to do. Like homework.<p>

Presently, she stepped into the living room, pulling off her school uniform and shorts as she went until she was left in just her white bra and blue panties. Tossing her clothes onto the couch, she plopped herself onto a spot that was not occupied and sat down, arms stretched out on either side of her. Lily tilted her head back, taking a moment to just sit back and relax. The weekend was starting, and she didn't really have anything planned, which was generally how her weekends started anyway.

"What to do, what to do..." she sighed aloud.

Her pondering was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone's ring tone, a piece of a trance song she happened to really like. After listening to it for a bit, she reached into her skirt pocket, where the item in question had taken residence for now, and answered. She didn't even need to look at the caller ID to know who it was, since only one person ever called her at this hour.

"Heya, oyaji," she said in her usual laid-back tone.

She could easily picture the exasperated smile and head shaking from her father on the other end, which brought a grin to her mouth. "Hello, Lily. Are you doing alright?"

"Un," she replied. Her eyes were still closed as she remained in her relaxed position. "Got back from school not too long ago, so I'm just chilling right now."

"I see. Well, I'm glad to hear that. I just wanted to check on you. Are you doing well? Doesn't seem like you do much with the money I put in your account."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just try not to spend too much, that's all."

"You know money's not an issue, sweetheart."

"I know. But 'waste not, want not', yeah?"

Gentle laughter. "That's my girl. I've got to run now; I'll call you some other time, Lily. If you need anything, you let me know, okay?"

"Un, will do."

"I love you, Lily."

"Love you too, oyaji."

After she had disconnected, Lily set her phone down on the coffee table and went back to reclining. She sighed, disguising it as a longer than normal exhale even though no one was around; conversations with her father always made her feel the need to do that afterward. It wasn't that she disliked him or anything, certainly not. Though sometimes (well... maybe more than sometimes, she privately admitted to herself), she did wish he wasn't so busy with work and traveling overseas all the time. Certainly, it was nice having the apartment to herself all the time, but there were a lot of times when it just felt too lonely. She appreciated that her father would call to talk to her, but that was about all she ever got out of him. Granted, that was a hell of a lot more than her mother did. Her parents' divorce when she'd still been in junior high had actually gone quite quickly, though it probably helped that all her mother had really wanted was just money. Her father had been able to take custody of her without much of a hassle, since she definitely hadn't had any interest in taking her own daughter in.

_Gee, thanks a lot, kaa-san._

A soft scoff escaped her. She would admit to still harboring some feelings of bitterness about it, but she was over it for the most part. Having good friends had helped immensely during that time. In a way, she had reflected, it had actually been kind of a good thing, because that was when she and Luka had become much closer as friends. Even if she loved pushing the pinkette's buttons and Luka in turn would visit painful retribution on her when pushed too far, she knew they mutually cared about each other, and if push came to shove, they each had the other's back.

An amused grin crossed her face as she shook her head. What the hell was she doing starting off her weekend with such sappy thoughts?

"I must be getting soft in my old age," she quipped to nobody in particular.

Lily stood up, stretching before looking around for some clothes to throw on instead of just lounging around in her underwear all day. And besides, now that she thought about it, she still had yet to type up her latest article on the school's beloved Ice Princess.

"Well, we can't have that," she snickered. She finished pulling on a pair of shorts and a tank top as she headed over to her computer. As she slid into her seat, she cracked her knuckles, already having a pretty good idea on what she wanted to write. Lily let out a low, dark chuckle as she wiggled her fingers over the keyboard.

"Let's get started then, shall we?"

* * *

><p>Luka had just finished her history homework when she felt the chill run up her spine. She shivered, wondering what was with that sudden feeling of dread.<p>

"You okay, senpai?"

Miku had been sitting on the floor near her as they did their homework, hoping to get it out of the way so that they could enjoy the rest of the weekend without needing to worry about finishing it. Her teal eyes fixed her now with a look of genuine concern that sent mild heat into Luka's cheeks. The pinkette looked away, muttering, "Er, yeah. I'm alright. Just um... it felt a little cold for a second, that's all..."

"Oh?" The way Miku perked up at this was _definitely _not a good sign... or the fact that her eyes were now practically sparkling. "Ah, it must be because you had tennis practice. After all, you haven't taken a shower just yet, and it's gotten kinda cold lately..." Her grin widened. "Maybe you should go ahead and take a shower, ne, senpai~~~?"

Luka facefaulted. For obvious reasons, Luka never took a shower as soon as she got home these days, instead waiting for Miku to leave for the day before she took one. It was hard to say what gave away Miku's evil intentions more: the sly gleam in her teal eyes, the trail of drool starting at the right corner of her mouth, or the toothy, wicked grin that positively screamed out her vile intentions. Scowling, the pinkette sniffed with icy disdain, "You must think I am incredibly stupid, Hatsune-san, if you think I'm going to fall for that."

"Ah, you saw right through me, ne?" Miku giggled, obviously unperturbed by the failure of her plans.

"I think even the dumbest person on the planet could have figured out what you were up to." If Luka's tone would not have frozen a raging tidal wave solid, her aura would have finished the job.

"I had to try, right?" The tealette grinned cheekily (and heartily ignoring Luka's hissed reply of "Actually, no, you didn't.")."But," she continued, her tone dimmed down into a more concerned tone, "It's still not good for you to be cold, senpai."

Luka blinked, taken aback by the genuine worry she heard in Miku's voice. Her cheeks warmed up a little as she admitted, "That's... That's true."

Miku's face instantly lit up into a million-watt smile. "Right! And so...!" To Luka's shock and horror, Miku had somehow teleported herself onto the older girl's lap so that she was draped over her legs, arms tightly wrapped around her neck. "I'll just have to warm you up then, senpai!" she declared happily.

Mute horror stopped Luka's mouth as the tealette snuggled up to her, wholeheartedly ignoring the stricken expression on Luka's face, or the crimson shade that decorated it. "There you go! You'll be warm in no time, Luka-senpai~! Kyaa~ I'm in such a romantic embrace with Luka-senpai!" Miku squealed excitedly. "How embarrassing~~~!"

Despite her words, Miku's voice held not even the slightest ounce of embarrassment. Luka's, however, did, as she finally found her voice and shrieked, "WH-WH-WH... _WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? ! YOU STUPID GIRL, GET OFF OF ME!"_

"No way~!" Miku sang happily. She instead snuggled deeper into her senpai, her cheek pressed up against Luka's, much to the older girl's mortification. "Ehehe~ Your cheek is so soft, senpai~! Ne, ne! Is it bad that I like it when you call me a stupid girl? It's almost like a pet name... Kyaa~ My very own pet name from Luka-senpai~~~! It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside~"

"_**YES, IT IS BAD, YOU TWIT!" **_Luka shouted, desperately trying to push Miku's face away from her own. _**"DON'T TAKE PLEASURE IN BEING INSULTED, YOU MORON! IDIOT! DUMBASS! PERVERT! CRIMINAL! MOLESTER!"**_

"Ahhh, you're so cute when you're mad, senpai!" Miku cried, still trying to snuggle even more into Luka's body. The hands pushing away her face proved to do very little to dampen her cheer. "You're so cuuuute~! I wanna take you home~! Lemme take you home, senpai!"

"_**ABSOLUTELY NOT!" **_Luka screamed. _**"LIKE HELL I'M LETTING YOU TAKE ME HOME! GET OFF OF ME THIS INSTANT!"**_

"Uuu, just a little longer then! Your body is so soft~!" Miku squealed, as if she had not heard. "Yeah... Your body is so... soft... and warm... Ehehe..."

The younger girl's voice had steadily descended into increasingly perverted tones, and this was accompanied by her usual perverted grin, the usual perverted gleam in her eyes, and the usual perverted nosebleed, to Luka's utmost horror. Her eye twitched.

"_**D-D-DON'T BLEED ALL OVER ME, YOU RETARDED GIRL! THAT'S DISGUSTING! **__**OH MY GOD, GROSS! YOU FREAK, YOU'LL COVER MY UNIFORM IN- KYAA!"**_

"Ack!"

During the struggle, Luka's attempts to get away from Miku had caused her to lean so far back that she ended up toppling over. She fell flat on her back, her head smacking against the thankfully carpeted floor of her living room. This cushioned the blow somewhat, but this only left her conscious enough to realize that Miku had toppled over as well, still on top of her and...

Luka's blue eyes stared in mute, wide-eyed shock at the equally shocked teal eyes above her. Their bodies were pressed together in a way that brought crimson flooding Luka's face even worse than before, but despite everything, she was frozen in place. Miku too seemed frozen. Neither could even seem to think of saying something, perhaps worsened by the fact that their faces were so close to each other. Their faces were so close to each other's that their lips were almost touching, but were close enough that their hot breaths were ghosting the other's lips. Miku was the first to recover, but she stared down at Luka, who remained frozen, her brain apparently unable to process the situation. The tealette could not help but continue staring at her. Luka's expression right now was just so... vulnerable... and cute...

Miku seemingly went into a trance, suddenly finding her urges incredibly difficult to contain. Her voice came out in a soft, breathy voice as she whispered, "Luka... senpai..."

Her face drew closer, and Luka found that her body was unable to move. She could only utter a soft whimper before Miku pressed their lips together in a rather chaste kiss.

_Luka-senpai's lips..._ Miku thought, her hooded gaze mirrored by Luka's. _They're... even softer than I thought they'd be..._

She wanted to indulge in this feeling for as long as she could but knew that she should probably break it soon. After all, the older girl seemed to be in a state of shock, and this wasn't exactly very rewarding... And it _definitely _wasn't how she had hoped for their romantic first kiss to be like... Especially since the kiss tasted a little of her own blood, yuck... Well, she supposed she could make it up in future kisses! With this encouraging thought, she parted their lips, pulling back so that she could see Luka's face.

The older girl was flushed and apparently breathless. Had she... liked it? Miku blinked down at her as she wiped away the blood from her face (and had miraculously not gotten any on Luka's face). Maybe... Maybe this was a good sign! Perhaps? Perhaps not? It was really hard to tell from Luka's lack of reaction what exactly she was thinking. She rubbed the back of her head uncertainly.

"So um... Yeah. That was... unexpected..." Miku tittered awkwardly. "But that was pretty nice too, wouldn't you say?"

This seemed to wake Luka up, as she began to tremble, her eyes shutting into an expression that did not bode particularly well for Miku's physical condition in the immediate future. Softly at first, but then the quaking intensified with every passing moment…

_Uh oh._

"N... N... N..." Luka's eyes snapped open, and Miku swore she had temporarily grown fangs as she glared at her, death burning in her eyes. _**"NICE, MY ASS! ! ! ! !"**_

What felt like the right hook from Hell slammed into Miku's jaw, and the hapless girl was knocked off of her rather enviable position on top of Luka to fall flat on her stomach. "Ow... Okay, I'll admit I deserved that, but- Gah!"

She was rudely interrupted by the feeling of Luka hopping onto her back, catching her in a strangling headlock. The enraged Ice Princess's voice thundered, _**"YOU IDIOT! DUMBASS! PERVERT! CRIMINAL! THIEF! MONSTER! DEMON! OGRE! PARAMECIUM! CATFISH! SEA SLUG! CENTIPEDE!"**_

The insults flew one after another, each of them making progressively less sense to the point that, if Miku were not being strangled, she would have suspected that Luka was simply screaming whatever came to mind (which actually was not that far from the truth). As it was, Miku simply found that all she was concentrating on was the fact that Luka was very, very, _very _angry, and that even in the midst of strangulation, she really liked the feeling of Luka's boobs pressed against the back of her head.

_Ehehe~ It's like Heaven and Hell~!__ I like! Miku-Miku Stamp of Approval!_

"Oh, senpai!" she managed to choke out. "You're so rough~! Please be gentle with me~ Kyaa~~~!"

"_**STILL TALKING**__**, ARE YOU? ! I'LL SHUT YOU UP FOR GOOD, YOU BRAT! DIE! DIE! DIE!"**_

* * *

><p>"And that's how my weekend started off," Miku finished with a gigantic grin plastered on her face.<p>

The twins sweatdropped, and even Gumi was scratching her cheek awkwardly. "Uh huh... Well, it at least sounds like you had fun," the green-haired girl said.

"I guess you could call it that," the tealette giggled.

They were all seated in their classroom on an insultingly bright and cheerful Monday morning that had chosen to herald the new school week. Aside from the unfortunate incident that followed kissing Luka, the weekend had passed relatively normally, though she did give Luka a bit more space than she normally did. It seemed to be the smart move to make after that... which had really not been according to plan, but Miku supposed it was still a nice event nevertheless! It had definitely made her weekend, that was for sure! Luka still seemed awfully flustered around her though, which may or may not have been a bad sign...

She smirked darkly to herself. Maybe she'd given Luka-senpai that push already? Who knew...She'd just have to wait and see.

_Your move, senpai~~~_

Miku quickly hushed the schemes brewing in her mind as the teacher entered the classroom, in addition to a girl with bright red hair and a funny-looking lock of hair protruding from the top of her head. She blinked at it, fascinated by how it seemed to bounce as she walked. The girl paused at the front of the classroom, looking at everyone with a bright, innocent smile. The tealette barely paid attention to the droning words of their teacher (she apparently hadn't had her coffee today, given her frazzled appearance and sleepy demeanor), instead keeping her attention on the girl. Or rather, her ahoge.

After being prompted by the teacher, the girl bowed deeply to the class and said happily, "Pleased to meet you all! I'm Furukawa Miki! I hope we can be good friends!"

For some reason, a burst of applause followed this, causing Miki to look up in surprise, but she recovered quickly to smile brightly. She had a good feeling about this! She was directed to a seat next to a girl with teal twintails. As Miki walked over, she took a quick look at her immediate seat neighbors. Behind the tealette was a green-haired girl sporting red goggles on her head, who was staring at her the same way the tealette was, maybe with a bit more intensity. In front of the tealette was a blond boy, and beside him, directly in front of the empty seat she would be occupying was a blonde girl who looked much like him (_Twins?_ It seemed the logical answer.), and sitting behind her was a blonde girl with a side ponytail who was apparently reading her textbook (she had been the only one to not look up at her introduction). Miki took her seat. She glanced over at the tealette, who was still staring at her, and offered a sunny smile.

_Gotta make a good first impression!_ she told herself.

"Hi! I'm Furukawa Miki! I hope we can be-"

She was silenced as she felt something grabbing at her hair. More specifically, her ahoge. Miki blinked and shifted her eyes until she saw a green-haired girl, who had reached out and grabbed her ahoge, apparently in a trance. The tealette had looked over too, and so had everyone else, save for the blonde girl with the side ponytail.

Blinks.

"Gumi-chan..." the tealette said slowly. "What're you doing?"

Awakening from her trance, the green-haired girl blinked. She looked at where her hand was, and the confused, somewhat bewildered look in the redhead's eyes.

"Ah."

From her seat in front of Gumi, Rin sighed and extracted a paper fan from her book bag she kept for just such an occasion. Normally it was reserved for Miku but... She held it out to Neru's extended hand. Without even looking, Neru raised the paper fan and then hit her mark.

_SMACK!_

"Ow!" Gumi whined, rubbing her head.

"Thanks for the assist, Neru-chan," Rin said, beaming as she took her paper fan back.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

><p>At their first passing period, Gumi took her opportunity to apologize.<p>

"Ahaha! Oh man, I'm so sorry about that. I dunno what came over me!"

Miki giggled. "No worries! I get that a lot, to be honest! I used to know a girl when I was younger who used to do that to me a lot." She stuck her tongue out cutely as she scratched her cheek.

Rin smiled at her. "Did you move here recently, Furukawa-san?"

"Un! Well, I was here from last week, but my uniform hadn't come in yet, so I couldn't go to school. Oh, and please just call me Miki!"

"Okay!" Deciding she should introduce herself as well, she added, "I'm Kagamine Rin! Just call me Rin!"

Gumi decided she'd step in for introductions as well at this point. Leaping out of her seat, she exclaimed energetically, "I'm Kamui Gumi!" She also decided she'd do everyone else's introductions too, probably to make up for her previous blunder, as she went on, "This here is Hatsune Miku-chan. The girl with the cell phone over here-" She put a hand on Neru's head, drawing absolutely no reaction save for a grunt of what could possibly be interpreted as irritation. "-is Akita Neru-chan! And the boy in front of Miku-chan is Kagamine Len-chan!"

Len had been in the process of offering a friendly smile and a wave to Miki when he registered what had just been said. He sputtered before shooting a scandalized look up at Gumi and screeched, "L-L-LEN-_CHAN_? !"

"Len-chan?" Miki queried, tipping her head to the side in confusion as her ahoge formed a question mark.

Gumi nodded, offering him a million-watt smile. "Un! Len-chan! That's your new nickname, Len-chan! Cute, isn't it?" She flashed him a thumbs up sign.

The thumbs up sign was of absolutely no comfort for the blond boy. He exclaimed in outrage, "That's a horrible nickname! Please don't call me that, Gumi-san!"

Oblivious to his protests, Gumi turned to the class and cupped one hand around her mouth as she called, "Got it, everyone? Kagamine Len-kun's nickname is now Len-chan, 'kay?"

To Len's utmost horror, responses chorused from all corners of the classroom.

"Un!"

"Okay!"

"Yeah, sure."

"Understood!"

"Roger that!"

"MIKU!" Len wailed at the tealette who had responded last, and even gone so far as to salute. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE!"

"But I think it's a cute name for you, Len-chan!" she chirped.

"See? It's already gained acceptance!" Gumi said triumphantly. "'Len-chan' it is!"

Len's pained gaze flashed between both girls, who beamed at him and then went back to talking to each other and Miki as if they had not just christened him with a nickname that pretty much turned in his Man Card for him. It was at times like this that Len wished he was a big, tough, delinquent type of guy. Or at least packed attitude like Honne Dell-senpai... Dell was a bit on the skinny side, but he at least had height and attitude... At least then, being called Len-chan wouldn't be so bad, since he'd just need to glare a certain way and that would dry up all ridicule... Unfortunately, like his twin sister, he too had been afflicted with the Kagamine curse of being thin as a rail...

In defeat, Len hung his head, his forehead resting on the back of his chair and his arms hiding his "woe is me" expression, and the anime river tears that streamed pathetically down his face.

"You okay, Len-Len?" Rin asked, petting her brother's hair comfortingly. Despite her sympathetic tone, he could hear the grin in her voice and that made him even sadder.

"Kill me," he whimpered.

"Later."

* * *

><p>When lunchtime rolled around, much to everyone's surprise, Miku did not immediately dash off. Instead, she chose to walk with everyone for once, though it was probably because Miki was new to the group. As usual, Neru had declined the invitation to eat lunch with them and stalked off on her own, but Miki happily accepted the invitation. She was glad that she was making new friends already, since she'd been a little worried that she might have trouble fitting in seeing how she was transferring in during the school year. Len remained sullen and continued to sulk as he walked with the group, Rin grinning at his expense but still comforting him as best as she could given the circumstances.<p>

"Are we headed to the roof?" she asked curiously as they began to ascend the staircase.

"Un!" Miku chirped. "The latest addition of the school newspaper came out today, and Lily-senpai's article came out. So we always eat lunch on the roof during those days! Luka-senpai doesn't really like being around other people, especially on days when the articles come out!"

Miki blinked, not fully understanding but accepting nevertheless. She also focused on the name "Lily". She'd heard that name before, when she was still young... At least she was sure she had, anyway... Nevertheless, she thrust the thoughts aside from her head for the moment as she walked with her new friends. They headed out onto the school's rooftop, already seeing a group of seven students eating together. The pink-haired girl radiated an icy aura as she ate her food in a miffed fashion, the blonde girl beside her laughing heartily, apparently at her expense. The others were watching them with varying degrees of amusement, from the blue-haired boy and the brunette beside him openly laughing along with her, to the sullen-looking boy with silver hair cracking a smirk of amusement. It was the brunette who took notice of them first.

"Well, well, there you are, Miku-chan!" she called. "Was surprised that I got here before you did!"

Miku giggled. "I thought I'd take it a little easier today, Meiko-senpai!"

"Ah, is that so? That's cool. I'm sure the other students appreciate it!" She chortled before noticing Miki. Meiko smiled in a friendly fashion. "Well now! Another newcomer?"

"Un! This is Furukawa Miki-chan! She just transferred into our class!"

Miki took the opportunity to bow politely, offering a cheerful smile.

"Always room for more here!" Kaito said. "Especially for someone as cute as Miki-chan!"

Meiko suddenly whirled a deadly look on him. "What was that?"

Attention shifted from Miki onto the suddenly furious look in Meiko's eyes. Kaito began to sweat profusely, realizing belatedly that it might help for him to think about what he was going to say before saying it. "Er... I-I didn't mean it like that, Mei-chan... honest...! Hehe... Y-You know I've only got eyes for you...!"

Meiko's anger evaporated instantly into a playful grin. "I know! I just like messing with you, that's all!"

Kaito sighed in relief, his thought of "Thank God, I'm saved..." plainly obvious on his face. The attention shifted back to Miki, who had watched the events in a bewildered fashion but was finally able to relax seeing how the two were just playing around.

_Though if that's how she is when she's playing around... I'd hate to see her when she's angry... _Miki thought with a sweatdrop.

The last of the introductions was handled by the blonde girl. "Guess I might as well wrap this up so... I'm Masuda Lily! And this here-" She indicated the pinkette with her hand. "-is Megurine Luka-hime!"

Miki blinked. "Hime?" she asked, her ahoge becoming a question mark again.

"Un!" Lily replied happily. "She's Yamaha High's very own Ice Princess, top student, top athlete, envy of many, the aspiration of all, breaker of hearts, and destroyer of romantic dreams!"

"What."

"Oh c'mon, hime-sama, you know that everything listed fits you!"

"Oh, shut up. And stop calling me that, I hate that nickname."

"It's perfect for you though, your highness!"

Luka sighed and shook her head, officially handing victory over to her friend. During the exchange, Miki had been eyeing Lily carefully, blinking occasionally. The tone of voice, the manner of speech, even just the way she moved... Yes... Her heart suddenly swelled with happiness, tears welling up in her eyes. There was no doubt anymore in her mind at all. That girl in the store... The girl before her... The girl from her past...

"Lily... nee... chan..." she choked out.

Lily looked at her, blinking. "Huh? What's up, Miki-chan?"

"Lily-nee-chan...!"

Before anyone could react, Miki had suddenly blown past everyone else with a speed previously only matched by Hurricane Miku as she tackled the alarmed blonde in a gigantic bear hug, crying happily, "It's been a long time, Lily-nee-chan!"

"ACK!"

The fall had ended up with Lily's head smacking a little too hard against the ground... Miki noticed and instantly began to panic.

"Oh no! Lily-nee-chan!"

"Lily! Are you okay?"

"Lily-senpai?"

"Uggghhhh..." was the most intelligent reply she could think to say.

In contrast to everyone else's panicked reactions, Luka merely continued eating her lunch, not even bothering to turn around. Frankly, she thought while sipping at her juice, this was richly deserved.

* * *

><p>School was out for the day, but that didn't mean it was time to go home just yet. Masterfully weaving her way through the halls in a fashion that minimized human contact while she clicked away on her cell phone, Neru made her way toward the clubroom where the journalism club met up. She smirked with faint malice as she sent off a text imitating the infamous Nigerian Prince scam to twenty phones belonging to various staff and students of Yamaha High School.<p>

It was of some note to mention that Akita Neru had somehow managed to acquire just about every cell phone number and email in the prefecture, through means that mystified all but the girl herself. Questions regarding how she obtained them were absolutely pointless, as it did not please Neru to be questioned about such things, nor did she ever divulge the information.

The journalism club's room was generally not very loud, especially when it was early, like how she and Lily always tended to arrive. Some of the members used that time to just sleep, having finished their articles at home or the like, but today, she could hear laughter coming from inside. She blinked. "Lily-senpai?" she asked. And if she wasn't mistaken, she could hear the voice of that new girl, Furukawa Miki. Curious, she peeked around the corner of the doorway into the room, one hand on the doorway.

The room seemed to be empty of everyone except for Lily and Miki. Lily was seated in a chair, her elbow leaning on the desk as she cupped her chin in her palm, looking up at Miki, who stood beside her. An amused (and dare she say warm?) smile was playing on the blonde's mouth as she looked up at the girl with a playfully skeptical expression. "So you wanna join the journalism club too, huh? Well, it's not like I mind; the more the merrier. But what makes you think you're gonna be good for the club?"

"Oh, I'll be perfect!" Miki chirped. There was something about the way she was smiling at Lily that Neru really, really, _really _did not like... The redhead pointed up at her ahoge, remarking happily, "This is my news sensor!" Sticking her tongue out cutely, she added, "Just kidding!"

Lily blinked.

Neru facefaulted. _What the fuck...?_ What kind of lame ass joke was that? There was no way she could make even the most easily amused audience laugh at a retarded joke like that? _Tch, and this is why kids are so-_

...To her shock, Lily chose that exact moment to start laughing.

"Oh man, Miki-chii, you're just too much!" she laughed.

Neru's eye twitched. _Miki... chii...?_

Her eyes became bloodshot as she saw Lily reach up and start petting Miki, giving her one of her rare affectionate head rubs. For her part, Miki giggled cutely, her ahoge wagging with happiness. Neru quivered, every fiber of her body boiling with irrational anger that her mind was making absolutely no attempt to discover the source of. The nerve of that impudent girl! How dare she barge in here like she owned the damn place and talk to Lily-senpai like she owned her and make her laugh at her retarded jokes and... and... Her grip on the doorway was steadily starting to crumble the frame. She could take no more.

The sound of a throat clearing itself loudly brought a pause to the laughter between the two girls. Lily glanced over to see Neru striding in, as indifferently composed as ever. "Yo, Neru-chii!" she greeted. "Just the girl I needed to see! I've got my new article printed out; think you can have a look at it for me real quick?"

Neru nodded in reply and walked over to Lily. She served a very useful purpose to the club as the personal proofreader of Masuda Lily, which she was glad to do. She accepted the sheets of paper extended to her and took a seat near Lily.

"Ah, I better get going then! I don't wanna interrupt your club activities!" Miki said sheepishly. "Plus I told my dad I'd be home early tonight!"

"Ah, cool. He doing alright?" Lily asked with genuine curiosity. No one took notice of the twitch this drew from Neru's eyebrow.

"Un! He's fine! You should come over sometime, Lily-nee-chan!"

_LILY-NEE-CHAN? ! _Neru's mind demanded furiously. Oooh, that bitch! Why, she oughta stand up right now and fling her out the window, skinny frame and short height notwithstanding, this bitch was only an inch and a half taller than her, if even that! She entertained vicious fantasies of kicking Miki in the shins before hurling her out the window screaming, all the while managing to maintain a poker face and busying herself with the article.

"I might take you up on that offer sometime. Take it easy, Miki-chii!"

"Un! Bye-bye!"

Despite her calm demeanor, a miasma of violence radiated from every pore of Neru's being.

This... would _**NOT **_go unanswered...

Her eyes shifted to the portal Miki had just exited through.

_This means war, Furukawa Miki... __**WAR...**_

* * *

><p>End Chapter 7<p>

* * *

><p>*headscratch* Y'know, this chapter really was not meant to be this long... I think it was prolly when I started having too much fun with Miku and Gumi perving on Luka and the tennis club, along with the somewhat-but-not-entirely-successful kiss by Miku. XP I admit the ending segments don't flow particularly well, but that was about the best I could do. x_X;<p>

Oh yeah, about Lily calling her dad "oyaji", in usage, it would be roughly equivalent to calling someone "Pops". It's usually a very informal, almost insulting term, IIRC, and I thought it fitting for Lily to call her dad that in a playful manner. I'm rather enjoying writing her, I must say. XP

A Few Review Responses:

Seishun Vibration: Thanks for reviewing, and I gotta admit, you're making me seriously consider a Lily x Luka fic now, along with a Miku x Gumi! XDDD Looking forward to your next updates! :D

Jak656: Glad you enjoyed the morning scene; that was prolly my favorite part to write in the entire chapter. XD Yup, it's only a matter of time! Miku just needs to play her cards right :D And as for the 'item', I plan to have it make its appearance for sure!

LukaFan: I laughed so hard reading the first line of your review. It just conjured up this absolutely idiotic image in my head of some guy screaming that while an ice mountain crumbled and melted in front of his eyes. XDDD And wow, I really didn't know a lotta those things about Luka, definitely keeping those in mind! I like to try to be as accurate as I can be, I guess I'm just lucky that none of them have like completely set in stone personalities... ^_^;;

meislovely: Ack! *calls an ambulance for Kuro* X_X And I'll admit, I think Neru x Haku is pretty cute too. XD

Thyrokio: XDDD I won't lie, I do that myself when I check for updates, and it costs me dearly sometimes T_T; Glad you enjoyed it though, and I hope you enjoy future updates! :D

Wingweaver: Sorry, I'm gonna need that church bell for a bit longer. XD

OtakuGirl347: Glad you're enjoying it, and I'm glad you liked that ending! I decided to poke a little fun at myself for using that church bell gag again, but I couldn't resist. XDDD

Baddamobs: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked that part, cuz I thought I should add a bit of a cute moment for those two; After all, Luka's supposed to be falling for Miku's... uh... I guess you can call it her charm... XP And don't worry, I don't plan to silence that church bell. XD

SinnersLikeUs: Thanks! And never fear, the Ice Princess can't hold out forever against our (really perverted) heroine. :D I hope you can update some of your fics in the future too, I really like reading your works!

UK-Underworld King: That'd be a great idea for the school to implement, seeing how many accidents the Miku Express causes at their school. XDDD Glad you're enjoying it, and I hope you'll enjoy future updates! ^_^

My apologies if I didn't get to your review, but as always, I appreciate all your reviews! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time! ^_^v


	8. Chapter 8

You guys are great, all of you, and I really mean that. I thank you all for the support, and glad you guys enjoy this! I know the wait between chapters has gotten longer, but I hope you guys'll stick through it. ^_^; Here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: You ever wake up and wish that you were the one who owned the Vocaloids? I know I do. :\

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Earlier in the school year...<strong>

"MASUDA-SAN! JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

He had just come back to check on the latest member of the journalism club... He had left them alone for not even ten minutes and now...! A look of utter dismay and incredulity was on his face as he beheld Neru on her hands and knees in front of Lily's chair, the older girl's feet comfortably propped up on her back. She'd at least taken her shoes off, but that was hardly the point! He aimed a pained expression at Lily, who merely continued to relax.

"Oh, stop being such an old grandma about it," she sniffed, waving dismissively at him. She pulled her hand back to go back to lacing her fingers behind her head, closing her eyes contentedly. "Akita-chan can take this much, ne, Akita-chan?"

The human footstool's scowl deepened, the vein on her left temple getting just a bit bigger. "Oh yeah, definitely," Neru spat bitterly. "I do this all the fucking time."

"Excellent! This much should be no problem for you whatsoever then!" Lily cheered. "Iyaa, this feels so nice~~~"

Either they did not have sarcasm on the planet Masuda Lily hailed from, or this dumb blonde bitch (Neru temporarily forgot that she was blonde herself) was just being a real jerkosaurus rex, and it was a bit hard to tell which.

"Dammit, Masuda-san, didn't I tell you _not _to scare anymore of the newcomers?" Exasperated and still incredulous.

"Think of it as hazing then. It's tradition for newcomers to get hazed by veterans!" Airy and unconcerned.

"The journalism club does _not _haze!" Indignant.

"Oh, chill out already." Dismissive. "It's not like I'll be doing it all the time. Probably."

_PROBABLY? ! _Inner Neru demanded.

"PROBABLY? !" the journalism club member demanded.

"Ahhh, I could totally get used to this~!" Lily sighed in contentment. Apparently, she had not heard.

The other member slapped his hands over his face in frustration. "So help me, Masuda-san, if you scare this new recruit off too..."

Lily scowled. "God damn, you can whine." She waved her hand dismissively at him. "Go away already; you're being annoying. Just lemme have my fun."

Neru's eye twitched at this. Fun? FUN? The vein throbbing at her temple doubled in size as she glared ferociously into the ground. DAMN HER FUN! And damn her too, while she was at it! Neru emitted a half-sigh, half-growl, resigning herself to her fate.

_Someone owes me big for this, god dammit..._

* * *

><p>Her humiliation was finally over. Neru got to her feet, dusting off her knees and brushing her hands off on her skirt. She scowled as she rubbed her back, right where the bitch had decided to put up her feet. She picked up her book bag with every intention of storming out and thinking up dark plans to spam that bitch's email and text inbox with useless spam when she was suddenly interrupted by none other than said bitch.<p>

"Ne~ru~chii~!" she called in a singsong voice. "You still mad at me?"

Neru turned a look of alarm on her. "N-Neru-chii?"

"Un!" Lily replied happily with a nod. "Since you're Akita Neru, you're Neru-chii!"

"I fail to see the connection..." the younger girl replied dubiously, a sweatdrop rolling down the side of her head. Then again, perhaps she just didn't get it since she reasoned like a _normal_person, instead of a monkey hyped up on hallucinogens.

"Ah, don't worry about the little details!" she exhorted, slapping her enthusiastically on the back. The strike was hard enough that it knocked the wind out of Neru's lungs; was she trying to kill her, god dammit? ! "Besides, it sounds cute, doesn't it?"

"It sounds retarded, that's what it sounds like!" Neru spat venomously. Even so, a tinge of pink colored her cheeks; no one had ever given her a nickname before and... it didn't sound so bad.

"Aw, don't be like that," Lily said, clearly undeterred by Neru's verbal imitation of a hissing cat. She reached out and rubbed Neru's head, speaking in a tone of voice that made Neru wonder if she thought she was some furry creature that the older girl was attempting to tame. "There, there~ Good Neru-chii~"

In all honesty, this should have made her anger explode into a wildfire of apocalyptic proportions. Instead, Neru felt herself growing calmer under the touch. She sighed softly in defeat. There was no reasoning with this wild senpai, nor was there any point in trying to make sense of her... Who the hell was this girl? But... even if there was no rhyme or reason to what she did, she at least wanted to know one thing.

"Senpai," she said quietly, trying not to show she was enjoying the head rub too much.

"Hm?" Smiling and clearly enjoying herself.

"Was... Was there a point to humiliating me like you did?" Sullen.

"Mmmm..." Lily used her free hand to place her finger on her cheek in a thoughtful expression, her eyes lifting skyward in apparent thought. "Well... It was partly cuz I wanted to put my feet up since my feet were tired, and partly for the whole hazing thing but..." She grinned brightly at Neru. "Above all, I just wanted to see if you would actually do it."

The vein at Neru's temple tripled in size. Immediately, her hand lashed out, her palm aiming for the grinning girl's cheek. The strike never landed. Using the hand that had been on her cheek, Lily effortlessly caught Neru's wrist. Her eyes, which had previously been shut during her gigantic smile, were opened into mischievous slits, her smile now a smirk. Neru tried to rip herself from the older girl's grasp, but to of no avail; she was surprisingly strong! And it probably didn't help that Neru wasn't particularly strong herself... Still, her anger refused to let her just lie down and give up as she continued to struggle, hissing, "Let go of me!"

Lily chuckled, her soft laughter sounding pleased. "Feisty, aren't you?" she asked, her voice practically a purring sound. "Good. I like feisty."

Neru continued to glare back defiantly at the ocean-blue orbs that met her gaze coolly. Lily chuckled again, patting Neru on the head in a manner that _could_have been condescending, but even in her anger, Neru did not think she was trying to be. "I think you and I are gonna get along just fine, Neru-chii."

Giving her head one last affectionate rub, she turned to leave, flashing her a jaunty grin and a peace sign over her shoulder as she said, "Looking forward to working with ya!"

Frozen in place, Neru stared after her senpai's retreating back. What the _hell_was that girl's major malfunction? It seemed she'd been cursed with a maniac of a senpai... Neru sighed. This was going to be a troublesome school year... But... She reached up and touched her head, right where Lily had patted her. Neru blushed lightly as her hand stayed there, remembering how warm Lily's hand had felt. Close contact wasn't something she got much of, or liked. But even so...

_That... felt kinda good..._

* * *

><p><strong>Present...<strong>

With a sleepy yawn, Neru punched in her selection. The vending machine obediently produced the can of coffee she had requested, and she hungrily bent down to retrieve it. The first sip was nothing less than rejuvenating, and she had desperately needed that kick to get her morning started. She sandwiched her book bag between her arm and her body as she began tinkering once more with her cell phone, taking occasional sips of her coffee as she headed for her class.

Despite her silent but no less emphatic declaration yesterday, it seemed the war effort against Furukawa Miki had to wait. Besides, embarrassingly enough, she hadn't really thought through what exactly she was going to do in the midst of said war. About the only thing she could really think of was to troll her text mailbox, or her email; it would be child's play for her to get a hold of those, given her... talents. But there was no need for that. After all, the girl had just gotten here. There was no need to greet a newcomer with such hostility right off the bat, was there? Besides, for all she knew, that was a one time only deal.

And so, with that much more peaceful resolution in mind, Neru continued her walk toward the school building. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Lily walking at her usual jaunty pace. She often did see her in the mornings; it was just that Neru had never really bothered to walk up and say anything. Besides, there was something nice about seeing her lively senpai from a distance. She admired how she exuded energy and life without needing to be dashing all over the place; there was something admirably cool about that to her. Standing behind a tree, Neru discreetly eyed Lily, watching her tuck a few errant strands of blonde hair behind her ear. As usual, she felt her heart skip a beat, and a faint blush colored her cheeks as a small, but no less affectionate smile crossed her lips.

"Lily-senpai..." she whispered quietly.

Even if this was something that would fade in time (which she was sure it would), Neru had to admit she liked the way it made her feel. She didn't necessarily need to be with Lily-senpai; just being near her was enough. She nodded to herself as she took a sip of her coffee, still eyeing Lily. So it was fine for things to just stay as they were-

Neru's thoughts were interrupted as she saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye, the projectile barreling right for Lily...

* * *

><p>"Good morning, onee-chan!"<p>

That was all the warning Masuda Lily received before she was tackled by a cheerful redhead girl flying at her. (Not far from them, a spray of coffee was ejected at high speed from a blonde girl's mouth) She kept her balance this time, and grinned affectionately down at Miki. "And a pleasant morning to you too," Lily said with good humor.

The two girls walked through the school gates and through the courtyard, with Miki clinging to Lily's arm the whole time. The older girl chuckled inwardly; hearts were practically fluttering around the happy redhead.

"Oi, oi," she admonished playfully. "You're not a kid anymore, y'know."

Miki giggled. "I can't help it though! I'm just so happy that I get to see you again, onee-chan! It's been so lonely without you..."

The cheer in her voice had trailed off into melancholy towards the end, which Lily heard easily. Her grin faded as she looked down at the girl clinging to her arm. The happiness that had brightened Miki's eyes had dimmed, replaced by a sad expression that made Lily's heart pang, even though a small smile still tugged at her lips.

_Still __so __easily __affected, __eh? _Some things, she reflected, never changed.

Lily reached up and pinched her cheek. The action startled Miki out of her gloom and made her look up at the older girl. "Onee-chan?" she asked, her ahoge shaping itself into a question mark.

The blonde smirked down at her. "Oi, the hell do you think you're doing getting all sad this early, huh?"

Miki smiled sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry... It's just that I was always so lonely without you... It really has been a long time, Lily-nee-chan."

"Un, almost ten years. I'm just glad you didn't forget about me though!"

Miki scowled up at her. "Which reminds me! You forgot about me, didn't you?"

"Haa? Of course not. I remembered you the whole time; not a day went by that I didn't wonder how little Miki-chii was doing."

The airy tone and the equally airy way that Lily averted her gaze gave away her lie before she'd even said a word. "You did!" Miki accused, her scowl accented by her ahoge trying to tilt aggressively towards the blonde.

Lily smiled with faint embarrassment. "Okay, maybe a little bit?"

"Uuu..." The redhead sulked and her ahoge sulked with her, though she interestingly enough did not loosen her hold on the older girl's arm. Lily grinned down at her.

"Hey, c'mon. I'm sorry, kiddo."

"Uuu..." More sulking.

"Oi, if you keep that up, your face'll freeze that way."

"Uuu..." The sulk-fest continued right on, undeterred by the warning.

Lily grinned, knowing she had a surefire way to earn her forgiveness from Miki. When she spoke next, her voice was pitched in a plaintively apologetic whine for calculated effect. "If I buy you some cherries on the way back, will you forgive me?"

Miki's eyes practically sparkled at this, her ahoge standing straight up into an exclamation mark shape. "OHMYGODCHERRIESYAY!" she cried before hurling herself into a tight hug around Lily's waist (the difference was perhaps a millisecond at max though). Lily laughed, petting Miki around her wagging ahoge.

"Easy, now! Geez, Miki-chii, you're still the same as ever."

A few other passing students saw the display of affection and smiled as they walked by, a few turning to their friends and commenting about how cute those two were. One onlooker, however, could not disagree more.

From her position behind a nearby tree in the courtyard, Akita Neru glared daggers at Furukawa Miki's head, her bloodshot gold eyes willing her to melt into a writhing bloodstain on the concrete. A longish puddle of tan liquid sat not far from Neru, where she had spat out her coffee upon seeing that craze-ball locking arms with Lily-senpai. Her eyebrow twitched madly, her teeth grinding together. Why, that stupid little... thing! (Neru did not take into account at this point that she was actually shorter than Miki) Murderous thoughts flitted through her head, her can of coffee crumpling in her fist and gushing out the rest of the drink. She had originally purchased it to wake her up this morning but it seemed her body had found pure rage to be a much more invigorating substitute than mere caffeine.

Neru stomped toward the two, the ground beneath her practically quaking with each step. Venomous thoughts raced through her head one after another as she approached them. Despite the fact that Akita Neru was one of the shortest and skinniest students on campus (tied in fact even with the likes of the Kagamine twins, who at least claimed a curse on their family as their excuse), the malevolent aura around her was enough to make everyone stay out of her way for the moment. Once she had sidled up alongside Lily's left side (seeing how the older girl's right arm was being crushed by that damn bitch with her "ooooh, look at me, I'm so cute with my _stupid_ ahoge, teeheehee!" thing), she loudly cleared her throat.

Both girls looked over at the newcomer, seeing Neru with a composed, indifferent expression as she walked beside Lily. Nothing about her was off at all, except for the fact that she was carrying her book bag in front of her with _both_ hands, meaning that her cell phone was actually tucked away for once. Not noticing this detail for the moment, Lily broke into a grin again.

"Well, there's someone I don't see every morning!" she said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Lily-senpai," Neru greeted her coolly.

"Good morning, Neru-chan!" Miki greeted from Lily's other side, poking her head around the older girl's body.

Neru eyed her with brief distaste, which didn't show itself of course, before replying, "Good morning, Furukawa-san."

Miki pouted. "Uuu... just call me Miki! I don't like being called 'Furukawa-san'; it's so stuffy..."

"Yeah well, Neru-chii actually has some semblance of an idea on how to be polite," Lily quipped. "Even if her politeness is about as nice as our dear Ice Princess's."

"You flatter me," Neru said dryly.

"I do have a bit of a flattering streak. What can I say, I'm great at buttering people up!"

Neru scoffed and rolled her eyes, and Miki giggled. But despite her seemingly negative reaction, Neru was enjoying herself. She smiled privately as she walked beside her. Okay, so maybe it wasn't _all _bad having Miki around, seeing how it had resulted in her being near Lily earlier in the day. She might even make this a habit.

They were now outside the younger girls' classroom, so Lily bid them farewell at this point. Neru nodded and gave a simple, "See you later, senpai." But for Miki, such a farewell was apparently far too simple.

"Bye-bye, onee-chan!" she chirped. She stood up on the tips of her toes and pecked Lily on the cheek, which the older girl accepted with just a smile of amused affection. With that, Miki skipped over to her seat and Lily turned to head upstairs to her own classroom, flashing Neru a quick, jaunty smile and a wave over her shoulder as she did. All of this was lost on Akita Neru, who remained rooted to the floor, her face a mask of shock.

* * *

><p>A bit later that morning, Kamui Gumi bounded into the classroom and greeted her friends with a broad smile and an energetic "Yo!"<p>

"Good morning, Gumi-chan!" Miki greeted. Rin smiled and waved at her. Len did not greet her with anything save for sulking; he'd been called "Len-chan" by a few of his classmates already and was still sore about Gumi giving him that nickname.

Barely even noticing the younger Kagamine's reaction to her, Gumi slipped into her seat. Jerking her head toward the doorway, she asked, "Ne, what's up with Neru-chan? She was just standing out there."

"Did she still look like someone ran over her cell phone?" Rin asked. "Cuz that's how she looked when Len and I got here."

"I didn't even know she was standing outside," Miki remarked. Her brow furrowing with thought, she wondered aloud, "I wonder why she's doing that...?"

Shrugs (except from Len, who was still sulking).

A few minutes later, Miku came in, waving frantically at her friends and cheerfully oblivious to the cries of _"__ARGH, __MY __SPINE!__"_ from another unfortunate victim of the Miku Express outside. "Hey guys!" she chirped.

"Hi, Miku-chan!" Miki greeted.

"Heya, Miku-chan," Rin said warmly.

"Yo, Miku-chan!" Gumi and Miku exchanged salutes during the green-haired girl's greeting.

Len continued sulking; he was still bitter at Miku for jumping on the "Len-chan" bandwagon so quickly.

Sitting down, Miku jerked her head toward the doorway. "What's up with Neru-chan?" she asked curiously.

Shrugs.

"Been like that since we got here," Gumi said, scratching her cheek.

* * *

><p>Neru finally managed to recover from her shock just before the bell rang. She walked into the classroom and took her seat behind Miki. Instantly, the air grew heavy as Neru glared directly ahead of herself, which just so happened to coincide with the back of Miki's head. The redhead stiffened as she felt that glare. She shifted uncomfortably, hunching into herself and chewing her lower lip fearfully, her ahoge crooked with fear.<p>

_Wh-Why...? I-I don't understand..._

For her part, Neru seethed quietly, her glare practically reflecting images of Miki's cruel demise. Gumi took notice of the heavy air between them and discreetly glanced between both the angry blonde and the cowering redhead. She blinked uncomprehendingly. Reaching forward, Gumi tapped the tealette in front of her on the shoulder. Miku looked back, and Gumi briefly shifted her eyes to indicate the two girls on their left. Miku curiously looked over, seeing Miki in a cold sweat as she tried to hunch into herself enough to disappear (and failing miserably at it too). Blinking, she shifted her eyes over to Neru, her golden eyes practically on fire. Miku blinked again. She shot a questioning look at Gumi over her shoulder, which the green-haired girl replied to with a short shrug. Miku shrugged back before turning to face forward again. Not much point thinking about it.

Unfortunately, this tactic was not going to work for Miki at all. She whimpered softly, trying her best to concentrate on writing her notes, but unable to stop thinking about the mother of all death glares drilling into the back of her skull.

_Why? What did I do?_

The death glare continued unabated.

Anime river tears streamed down poor Miki's face. _Someone __save __me...!_

* * *

><p>It was only by lunchtime that Neru finally grew tired of trying to incinerate Miki's brains through her skull with her Glare of Eternal Misery and Suffering. Miki slumped into her seat, exhausted as she whimpered to no one in particular, "Thank goodness..." And she still had no idea what she had done wrong! She sniffled at the unfairness of it all.<p>

Cutting through Miki's sad mood was Miku's cheerful voice as she cried, "Ne, Miki-chan! Miki-chan!"

Miki looked up to see Miku smiling down at her. "You wanna have lunch with us again?"

Miki's mood instantly perked up. "Sure!" she chirped. "I'd love to!"

Nearby, Neru had turned her back to the group as she got her lunch out. She rolled her eyes as she stood up to walk to her usual lunchtime haunt. Such children, she sneered in her head. What were they, elementary schoolers? Ah well, kids would be kids... She began to walk away without even so much as a glance.

Gumi winked teasingly at the redhead. "Just don't tackle Lily-senpai like you did yesterday, yeah?"

Neru's foot froze in mid-step.

Miki rubbed the back of her head as she stuck her tongue out embarrassedly. "Yeah... I um... I got a little carried away there." She rapped her knuckles against her head. "Ehe!"

Unseen to the others as they laughed at the memory of what had happened yesterday, Neru stared straight ahead of herself, her stricken expression not boding well for her current mental state. Her eye began to twitch. Tackling... Lily-senpai...?

_The redhead was draped over Lily's lap, her lips curved into a wicked smirk as she seductively traced a circle with her finger just above the older girl's breasts. For her part, the blonde was sighing dreamily as the younger girl pressed herself against her._

"_See, Lily-nee-sama?" Miki purred. "You don't need that dreary cell phone otaku around when you have someone like me, ne~?"_

"_Hm~? Cell phone otaku~?" Lily asked absently from her trance-like state. "Whoever do you mean, Miki-chii~?"_

"_Un~ __That__'__s __right, __onee-sama~~~__" __Miki __began __to __giggle __evilly..._

Neru's eye twitched as she trembled from the mental image...

"Alright! Miki-chan's joining us again!" Miku cheered. "Let's go!"

Suddenly, a yellow blur dashed up to their group, revealing Neru as she raised her hand and shouted at the top of her lungs in Miku's face, _"__I-I__'__M __COMING __TOO!__"_

Blank stares. Neru would admit to herself that she looked more than a little silly holding one hand up in the air when she was practically an inch away from Miku's blankly staring face, but that would come later. The blank stare on Miku's face warmed up into a genuinely happy grin. "Yay, Neru-chan's finally joining us today!" she cheered. "The more, the merrier!"

The others joined in on Miku's cheers. Despite herself, Neru smiled and relaxed. This wasn't so bad, she supposed. Instead of sitting alone in the library, she would be in the company of her friends, and the senpai she admired. She would rather roast over an open fire than admit to it out loud, but there was something appealing to her about that image. Her smile remained as their group began walking to the cafeteria, listening to her friends talk and laugh amongst themselves instead of focusing all of her attention on her cell phone. Yeah... she could get used to this.

Besides...

Her eyes flashed as she shot a glare over at Furukawa Miki, who was giggling over something Gumi had said. Akita Neru was a firm believer in the saying "Keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer."

_I won't lose to you, Furukawa Miki..._

A chill rattled Miki's spine. She frowned. They really should manage the air conditioning better in this building...

* * *

><p>Neru took a bite of her sandwich and chewed. In her left hand, she held her sandwich, while holding her cell phone in her right, clicking away skillfully with just her thumb. And even though she was taking part in her usual pastime of trolling people, her face was set into a deadpan facefault, as it had been practically as soon as she'd taken her seat at the cafeteria table.<p>

Poke.

As if this were some sort of trigger for a reaction, her eye twitched in response to the finger poking at her cheek. Neru did her best to ignore the contact.

Poke.

She swallowed and then went for another bite. Her phone buzzed as someone actually texted back to tell her in a decidedly unkind set of words that he would like for her to go away and to preferably pleasure herself by shoving a painfully spiked dildo up her ass. While this ordinarily would have been funny, she did not even so much as break into a ghost of a smile.

Poke.

Her eye twitched again. So help her, if she did that one more time-

Poke.

Neru swallowed her mouthful of sandwich and pursed her lips before turning toward her currently very annoying senpai. "Is there a problem, senpai?" she asked, her tone coldly polite and not doing a very good job of hiding her irritation.

For her part, Masuda Lily was staring dumbly at her. More specifically, she was staring dumbly at her kouhai's cheek, which she had been poking at more or less regular intervals since Neru had taken her seat beside her. Lily blinked, seemingly awakening from her trance to look up at the irritated gold eyes glaring at her. "Huh?" Lily said intelligently. "Oh. Um. No, not really."

"Ah, is that so?" Annoyed. "Then may I ask why you keep poking my face while I'm trying to eat?"

Right about now, Lily was actually doing a startlingly convincing impersonation of a dumb blonde. "Um... Well, I uh... I just can't believe you're here, mostly. I mean like... Wow, y'know? So I guess I'm just making sure you're real instead of like... a hallucination or something."

Neru facefaulted. "Is it really so much of a stretch to think that I might want to eat lunch with you for once?" Though she still sounded annoyed, this came out a bit softer than her previous questions.

Lily hummed with thought. "Mm... I dunno. You never wanted to before."

_That__'__s __because __I __prefer __it __when __it__'__s __just __us,__senpai..._ Naturally, Neru did not voice this out loud, but her gaze softened imperceptibly. She wasn't sure what to say in response to that. Thankfully, her senpai saved her the trouble as she broke out into a large smile.

"But, whatever!" Lily said happily. "I dunno what the occasion is or why the sudden change of heart, but I must say that I like having my cute little kouhai here with me!" She poked her cheek again. Lily giggled in a manner akin to an amused child. "Kyaa, Neru-chii, your cheek is so soft!"

Poke. Neru's eye twitched again, her irritation back in full force.

"Ehe~ Ahh, I could do this all day!"

"Please don't."

Poke. Neru scowled, but that only made her cheek puff out even more, thus encouraging more poking. Which she just received.

"Who knew such a sullen and cranky girl like you would have such soft cheeks!"

"Wh-Who's sullen and cranky? !" Neru demanded.

Poke. Gleeful giggling.

Neru sighed. _Stupid __senpai..._

"Ooh, I wanna try too!" Miki cried. She moved over to the unoccupied seat beside Neru. Miki's index finger drew near to Neru's cheek...

Just before it made contact, the short blonde leaped out of her seat and towered over Miki, fists in the air as she hissed wrathfully, her side ponytail standing up in a fashion reminiscent of extremely pissed off cats.

"_**KIIIIII!**__**!**__**!**__**" **_Neru hissed furiously.

Miki cowered from the angry Neru, hands protectively covering her head as she wailed, "EHHHH? WHY? !"

"N-Neru-chan... I'm sure Miki-chan didn't mean any harm..." Haku said, doing her best to placate the furious blonde.

"_**KIIIIIIII!**__**!**__**!**__**!**__**" **_Neru insisted. Clearly, she was not in the mood to be placated.

Watching the events unfolding before her, a million-watt smile lit up Gumi's face. The smile was still on her face as she turned towards her brother, who was seated on her right. She began poking his cheek, and Gakupo blinked, staring down at his sister blankly.

"...Gumi, what the hell are you doing?"

"Ehe~ What's it look like I'm doing, onii~chan~?" she chirped, practically singing the last word.

The older Kamui was not amused. "Being very annoying. Stop it."

"Ehhhhh?" Gumi whined. "Don't wanna! Poking you is fun!" As if to demonstrate, she poked his cheek again.

Gakupo facefaulted. "And being poked isn't. Cut it out."

Gumi pouted. "No!" Poke.

He scowled at her. In the face of this, Gumi instantly switched tactics. Her lower lip began to quiver, eyes becoming exaggeratedly watery.

"Y-You don't like playing with me anymore, onii-chan...?" she whimpered in a calculatingly hurt tone of voice.

Kamui Gakupo recognized this tactic. Almost every time he saw his sister in the past, she had pulled this trick, or something similar on him when she wanted her way. Yes, he had seen this many, many, many times. The worst part was that he had never once been able to resist it. Even at this exact moment, when he tried to hold onto his vow that next time, he would be firm and resolute, his will began to waver. The part of him that always reacted instantly to his sister's tears, crocodile or otherwise, was already raging to take control of his body so that he could dab her eyes with a handkerchief while saying, "Oh no, don't do that!" His pathetic attempt at a stern expression was already little more than a pained gaze. Gumi's watery eyes kept staring up at him, masterfully concealing the gleam of triumph that he _knew _was lurking just below... Then, she delivered the coup de grace.

She sniffled, in what to him was the absolute most moe fashion in the past, present, and future of moe.

Heaving a mighty sigh of defeat and ignoring the inaudible squeaking of the part of his brain that still tried to encourage him to be firm, he said, "Fine... Do what you want..."

Gumi's crying instantly ceased as she flung her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug and squealed, "You're the best, onii-chan!"

Gakupo sighed, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, anime river tears spilling down his face. Ugh... Yet another defeat to his sister's masterful manipulations... But it was nice to be hugged by her... which was small compensation in the face of the knowledge that he was still a gigantic sucker.

_Next __time,_ he promised himself, as Gumi began to poke his face happily. _Next __time..._

Inner Gakupo took this moment to turn away and facepalm.

Luka shook her head but smiled at the antics of her friends. In particular, she found Gakupo amusing, knowing what a sucker he was for his sister's manipulations. She was about to return to finishing off her juice when she felt something prodding her right cheek. Luka blinked. Turning toward the source of the disturbance, she came face to face with the radiance of Hatsune Miku's enormous million-watt smile. She flushed instantly, demanding, "Wh-Wh-Wh-What do you think you're doing? !"

"Just thought I'd join in on the fun~" Miku chirped merrily. "Kyaa~ I can't get over how soft your cheek is~~~"

Luka's eye ticked, her expression torn between horror and thinking that maybe this wasn't _too_bad. She averted her gaze as she spat, "S-S-Stupid girl! Honestly! You're a high schooler, aren't you? Stop acting like such a child!"

Miku blushed as she saw the strangely vulnerable expression on Luka's face... She was just so cute, especially when she was trying to stay angry and... and... Miku quivered in her seat, barely able to contain herself. Luka was already so cute when she was angry, but to see her like this... She was...

She was...

...

"Kyaa~!" Miku cried, her restraint snapping. "I can't stand it! You're just too freaking cute, senpai!" She lunged for Luka, arms outstretched as she went for a kiss. "Chuuuu~~~~!"

Luka had turned just in time to see Miku diving at her. Her reaction was as brutal as it was instant. The Ice Princess's fist swung out violently as she screamed, _**"**__**DENIED!**__**"**_

_**WHACK!**_

The next instant saw Miku facedown on the table, a giant red bump sizzling on the back of her head and her fingers twitching as she groaned, "Ow... pain... so... much... pain..."

Luka was unsympathetic to her plight. As she stood up, she turned away, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a "Hmph!" and went to throw away her trash. Students in the lunchroom exchanged glances and shrugs with each other, with scattered awkward laughter and sweatdrops; occurrences like these were quite common nowadays. At the table the two had occupied, the others had reactions ranging between laughter, worry, and exasperation. Rin, who was currently facepalming, was in the exasperated camp. The only one whose reaction was different was Lily, who gazed curiously after the pinkette as she stormed off.

"Hmm..."

* * *

><p>Luka's hands were placed over her heart, which pounded furiously in her chest. She panted softly as she willed it to please start beating at a normal pace once more. Her face was a troubled expression, cheeks still stained with a light rose-colored tinge.<p>

_That stupid girl..._

While it wasn't uncommon for her to react violently to something that Miku did or said, she'd never felt nearly this flustered before. And she'd noticed that she was becoming increasingly flustered by the tealette's actions... _She _was doing something to her; it was impossible to ignore this no matter how hard she tried. What was she doing? What was happening to her?

Though Luka could not come up with an answer for either of these questions, she knew at least that whatever was happening had _something_to do with Hatsune Miku. She closed her eyes, her troubled expression deepening.

_Stupid girl..._

* * *

><p>Not much longer afterwards, the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. But what awaited Miku and the other younger students upon their return was, much to everyone's dismay, a pop quiz. Some were more dismayed than others, and many of these... well... as the pop quiz went on, their expressions of dismay became worse and worse... Their moods also showed no sign of improvement as quiz eventually went on into their lessons for the day, but of course, the whining couldn't commence in the middle of class. Once the teacher had left during their passing period, however, it was as if someone had just pulled the cork on the bottled up bellyaching.<p>

"That was sooo lame!" Gumi whined, slumping in her desk. "It's not fair to ambush students as soon as they come back from their lunches!"

Miku giggled at her friend's antics while Rin glared at her reproachfully. "If you actually studied the material, it wouldn't be an issue, Gumi-chan."

Gumi's response was more bellyaching. "Whoever invented pop quizzes should be dragged out into the street and shot!" she groused.

Next to her, Neru rolled her eyes as she surfed the web on her phone. It was a pretty fair guess to say that Kamui Gumi was one of the ones who hadn't done very well on her pop quiz.

"You don't study, Gumi-chan?" Miku asked curiously.

"Bleh," was the green-haired girl's intelligent response. "Studying takes valuable time away from my hobbies!"

Rin facefaulted. "Are you planning to become a NEET or something...?"

"Onii-chan would take care of me."

Rin sweatdropped. The worst part was that he probably would... As he'd shown the whole world earlier (or at least their group of friends and whoever might have been looking on), Gakupo was an incredible sucker for his younger sister. Even so, Rin scolded, "Honestly, if you would just devote one hour of your time studying instead of surfing for porn, you'd already be doing yourself a huge favor."

"I'd prefer you not call it by such a crude name," Gumi sniffed, actually having the gall to sound miffed.

Rin folded her arms over her chest. "Fine. Then what do you call it?"

"Gumi's Happy Fun Time."

Silence. Even the clicking of Neru's omnipresent cell phone had stopped.

In contrast to her twin, who had started blushing, Rin sweatdropped. "I-I'm sorry... _What?_"

"Yeah. Gumi's Happy Fun Time," Gumi replied, as if she had just described a generic brand of socks.

Miki smiled brightly. "Wow, that sounds so cute!" she squealed. "Is it really happy and fun?"

Several pairs of eyes turned toward her incredulously, not that the redhead seemed to notice. Rin's left eye twitched. Was this girl honestly so innocent that, at her age, she didn't understand the implications of what Gumi had just said...?

The answer, apparently, was "Yes."

Beaming, Gumi replied, "Ehe~ Well, I suppose it is! And besides, the last part of it is a _great_ stress reliever~~~"

Miku grinned, clearly unperturbed. Miki smiled cutely, though she did tip her head to the side, not quite understanding what Gumi was implying. The three blondes, however, flushed simultaneously, accented by eye ticks from the females. Even if she was only implying, how the _hell_did Gumi talk about such things so easily? Did she seriously have no shame?

For his part, Len's nose began to bleed, his mind already conjuring up a _very _dirty image based on what he'd just heard. Miku noticed and handed him her handkerchief. He accepted it gratefully and began dabbing at the stream of blood (though he would later rue the fact that he had been seen using a pink handkerchief... that was unlikely to help him in his quest to stop being called "Len-chan").

"Onii-chan keeps taking my stuff though," Gumi pouted. She folded her arms over her chest as she scowled. "He talks all high and mighty when he jacks my stuff, but I know he uses it too! Onii-chan's happy fun times aren't nearly as quiet as he likes to think, I hope he knows!"

A very large sweatdrop rolled down the side of Neru's head, obviously asking herself again why she hung out with these tools. Miku remained undisturbed, and Miki tilted her head to the side, her ahoge forming a question mark, something obviously not adding up in her innocent mind. In comparison, an interesting transition occurred with the Kagamine twins. While Len's mind had previously been conjuring up a very dirty image of Gumi engaging in her "happy fun time", which he had been fighting desperately not to think about, Inner Len screaming at him that it was wrong to think of his friends in such an obscene manner while suffering a nosebleed of his own, this image was now replaced with the Gakupo version. His expression and Inner Len's expression quickly shifted into one that could best be summed up as "DO NOT WANT". For her part, Rin, who had previously been an inch away from leaving an indentation of her palm on her face, suddenly was having trouble keeping her nosebleed under control. She whipped out her handkerchief and pressed it against her nose, Inner Rin drowning in the sheer sexiness of the mental image.

It is worth mentioning that Inner Rin was actually remarkably similar to Miku in pervert mode.

Miki frowned in confusion, her ahoge still shaped into a question mark. "But Gumi-chan," she piped up. "Wouldn't it be more fun if you and your onii-chan played together?"

Silence fell like a lead curtain.

Five pairs of eyes turned toward the redhead, who patiently awaited an answer, her confused pout still on her face. It was astonishing that she could still look so cute after asking such a thing. Gumi's mouth opened and closed soundlessly, her tongue obviously stopped by what Miki was unknowingly implying. "I... Wh... N-N-No! A-Absolutely not!" she cried, waving her hands frantically in front of herself. "Th-Th-That's no good! N-No way! H-He's my onii-chan! I-I-I'm not like that! And G-G-Gaku-nii-chan's not like that either!"

Miki blinked uncomprehendingly. Tilting her head sideways in a quizzical expression, she asked, "Is it bad that he's your onii-chan?"

Gumi sputtered unintelligibly, turning redder by the second. "O-Of course it's bad!" she cried. "S-S-Siblings shouldn't do such things!"

"Isn't it strange of you to be saying that, Gumi-chan?" Rin asked. Despite her innocently pondering tone, the gleam in her eyes was about three hundred percent pure evil.

_Interrogate __us __about __twincest, __will __you?__What __goes __around __comes __around, __my __dear, __dear __Gumi-chan..._ Inner Rin laughed in an evil "Ohoho~" fashion whilst perched atop her roadroller.

"Yeah," Len piped up. The gleam in his eyes mirrored his sister's. "You have so many of those kinds of materials, so I'd have thought you of all people would be okay with it~~~"

"_Len-chan__" __demands __payback, __Gumi-san..._ Inner Len cackled evilly.

Gumi paled in horror. Meanwhile, Neru bit the inside of her mouth to keep her laughter in, and Miku slumped over in her desk, shoulders quivering with barely suppressed mirth. Rin and Len could probably have sent the legions of Hell crying to their mothers out of fear at this point from how wicked their grins were.

"A-A-Absolutely not! J-Just cuz I look at those doesn't mean that I'd do it!" Gumi cried. "Th-Th-The 2D world should stay in the 2D world!"

Miki was still confused. "But why not, Gumi-chan? Your onii-chan seems to love you very much! I'm sure he'd want to have a happy and fun time with you if you just asked!"

Miku began to pound her desk, muffled hiccups of laughter escaping her.

"I-I don't want to do that sort of thing with onii-chan!" Gumi yelled, her face a stark red. "Mou! Why would I want to do that with him!"

Miki still didn't get it. There was nothing wrong with playing with an older sibling, was there? But then, the closest she'd ever had to one was Lily-nee-chan... But if Lily-nee-chan ever wanted to play with her, she wouldn't be embarrassed... It would be fun! Of course, they were older now, but they used to play together a lot when they were kids! But then, they both were girls so... Miki's ahoge formed a light bulb shape as she tapped her palm with her fist in realization. "Ah! I got it! You're embarrassed to play with your onii-chan cuz he's a boy, right?"

Neru, who had blinked when it seemed Miki had realized it, facefaulted. In her phone, she rapidly typed out, "It'd be embarrassing even if he was a girl, you idiot!"

Gumi only stared mutely at the redhead, who seemed proud of herself for realizing.

"But if it's two girls, it should be okay! So next time, we can play together, Gumi-chan!" Miki declared confidently. Her ahoge seemed to nod in agreement.

Silence.

Miku and the twins looked like they were about to die laughing. Neru's expression remained deadpan as she typed into her phone, "ARE YOU TRYING TO START A HAREM, YOU GREEDY WHORE? !" Gumi's face flushed completely red, and it wasn't hard to see where her mind had gone.

"Wh-What...?" the green-haired girl squeaked pathetically.

"It's a promise, okay, Gumi-chan?" Miki chirped, still smiling innocently.

Gumi quivered, her head apparently about to explode as it tried to process the stream of WTF that had barged into her brain's normal functioning. "I... I..."

"Ne?" Still innocent.

She could take no more. Gumi bolted from her seat and fled out the door, screaming, "T... TOILET!"

All eyes stared at the open door that she had just fled through. Miki tipped her head to the side again, frowning thoughtfully. "Gumi-chan's weird."

* * *

><p>In another classroom upstairs, Lily was twirling her mechanical pencil absently around her fingers. There'd been so little homework that even she had been able to finish quickly during their free study period, so she took the opportunity to eye her pink-haired friend carefully. Most of their other friends didn't know how to read her quite like Lily did, so she was surprised no one had commented, but there was something different about Luka's behavior. Deciding to prod a little, she asked, "Everything okay, hime-sama?"<p>

Luka, who had been staring out the window pensively, was startled out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh, um... Yes, I'm fine."

"You sure? Cuz you aren't acting like it."

There was a penetrating undertone in Lily's voice, so it was instantly obvious to Luka that she was cornered. She sighed quietly. Sometimes it was both a blessing and a curse that Lily knew her so well. On one hand, if she was ever troubled by something, she could always count on Lily to know and to take appropriate action. For someone as bad with people as Luka was, this was a wonderful quality in a friend. But at the same time, such perceptiveness was a curse, for Lily could _always _tell when something was bothering her, and this was no exception. Luka had always been a withdrawn, introverted person, and even befriending Lily and her other friends had only been able to thaw a bit of that part of her, not she made any attempts to change it at all.

At any rate, she recognized the futility of trying to hide her turmoil behind her icily composed mask. She shrugged half-heartedly. "I suppose I am," she admitted.

"Something with Miku-chan?"

No point hiding it. Luka nodded.

Lily accepted this with a nod of her own. Her notebook remained where it was; when things got serious, Lily knew when to respond in kind. She quirked an eyebrow at her friend, silently urging her to continue. Luka looked away. Quietly, she said, "She... She kissed me."

The blonde's eyes widened at this. She had little doubts that Miku had gone ahead and taken it, because Luka would definitely have rather walked across a mile of scorching coals barefoot than initiate something like that. Scratching her cheek, she asked, "That's... your first kiss, right?"

Luka's face colored as she scowled slightly, nodding.

Lily winced. Beneath her ice-cold exterior, Luka actually had a side of herself that really was just an innocent maiden, the kind that dreamed of things like having her first kiss with the one she loved. That definitely wasn't going to be happening anymore, seeing how it had kind of been... well... taken. Doubtless, Miku would have earned some kind of violent backlash, but otherwise, things between them didn't seem to have changed much. If Miku was aware of the turmoil she'd caused, or the extent, she seemed oblivious, since she had acted the same as she always did. Luka, however... Lily pondered this for a moment.

For anyone who knew Luka as well as she did, it was pretty obvious that Miku had an effect on her. It was hard to say whether it was positive or not, but her omnipresence definitely forced Luka to accept her as something that was a part of her life. Lily tipped her head to the side, scratching her cheek. Well... constant close contact did have a way of affecting how people felt about others... Not for the first time, Lily got the impression that there was something a tad calculating about how Miku was going about things. On one hand, she didn't approve. She didn't like the idea of Luka being _tricked _into caring for someone and then dating them, and although she ordinarily would have said that she had no worries about something like that ever happening, Luka was definitely feeling something for Miku, whether she realized it or not. On the other hand, Lily had to admit that if anyone wanted a fair chance at the Ice Princess's heart, it actually did kind of take some planning... along with a dogged persistence. And Miku was nothing if not persistent. It was admirable, really. So many before Hatsune Miku had been shot down icily, and those that thought she was trying to play hard to get and would try to force her into things quickly found going against the princess's wishes to be painful.

She scratched her cheek, unsure how to continue this conversation and ultimately was forced to let it die as their homeroom teacher came in. This, Lily figured, was something that was going to just have to happen between the two of them. And that, she would admit to herself, worried her. Miku was extremely aggressive to be sure, and while also really perverted, Lily had a feeling that her heart was in the right place... She was basically gambling on the hope that Miku wouldn't just take what she wanted from Luka and run. But while the tealette's aggressive strategy (if one could call it that...) seemed to be working, Lily knew that Luka did not surrender her heart so easily. There was a reason why, despite immense popularity from being beautiful, smart, and athletic, Megurine Luka still had never had a relationship. Forget serious ones, she hadn't even had a boyfriend or girlfriend for so much as an hour, because she never accepted any of her admirers. And while Luka seemed to be melting, Lily knew that Luka would only get more defensive the more flustered and confused she became. She pursed her lips.

_I hope you know what you're doing, Miku-chan..._

* * *

><p>Luka was barely even pretending to be paying attention in class; her thoughts were quite obviously hundreds of miles away, but it wasn't like it was anything that she didn't know being covered anyway. But no matter how far her thoughts went, the thought of Hatsune Miku and the kiss she'd stolen were never far away. She didn't know what to think about that stupid girl anymore. She was noisy, she was whiny, she was far too energetic, she was an incorrigible pervert, she smiled at anything and everything... and she said she liked her.<p>

That was nothing new. Plenty of people had already told her they liked her. Of course they'd like her, Luka thought darkly. She wasn't blind; while she was actually quite modest, she knew for a fact that she was very attractive, talented, and smart. She made a perfect trophy girlfriend, she thought bitterly. And of course, that was what all of her so-called admirers wanted from her. All they were in love with was the Ice Princess image; no one stopped to think that perhaps there was a girl underneath that image. If they did, they would change their minds immediately, she was sure. Anyone who saw her flaws, her weaknesses, surely they would lose interest quickly. Who liked flaws anyway?

But Hatsune Miku had already seen some of her flaws. She'd seen some of the things about herself that she was ashamed of. She'd seen her violent tendencies, her short temper, her cowardly side, her lazy side... These were just the tip of the iceberg, but she had seen them, and she was still here. It bothered Luka. Her very presence alone disrupted what had once been the natural flow and order of Luka's life.

She hated it.

She was nothing more than a disturbance, doing nothing more than just messing up her life. That was all she was.

Her heart ached, something inside her protesting at this, but Luka forced herself to silence it. She closed her eyes, her expression briefly taking on a troubled appearance.

_I... don't need something like that..._

* * *

><p>End Chapter 8<p>

* * *

><p>Yes, I injected a bit of drama at the end, don't hurt me! *takes cover* In all seriousness, I did intend to have this put in all along. The build up for this story has actually surprised me however. When I first visualized this, I expected that I would be long since finished by now, but this has quite a ways more to go... x_X;<p>

I admit that I pretty much had Neru and the rest of the younger members of the group take over this chapter, but I wanted to give them a little time in the spotlight. XD

Review Responses

IdrewAcow: For some reason, it cracks me up too. XD; I think that's why I use it so much... Thanks for the review, glad you like it! ^_^

sawc: No lie, by this point, I'm not sure how many chapters this'll take either! XD; But either way, hope you'll enjoy future updates!

HIHOWSITGOING: XD That'd be pretty cute, I must admit. They look cute together!

Nocturnal Moon: XDDD! That really is cute! Glad you're liking the story so far, and yeah, I know I'm disappointing some people with the pairings. ^_^;; Hope it won't bother you too much though!

meislovely: Thanks for the review, glad you liked it!

LukaFan: Ah, the Nigerian Prince scam is just one of many kinds of frauds they call "advance-fee". They trick people into giving them money for a goal of sorts. My memory's a bit fuzzy on the Nigerian Prince one, but the con pretends to be some Nigerian prince that needs money to get back to their country or some crap like that. And they like to ask for things like bank accounts, card numbers... As you can tell, highly suspicious. XD Thanks for the fun fact, btw! Truthfully though, I think her voice is sexy as is. XD;

OtakuGirl347: Yeah, Gumi's definitely one of my favorites to write in this story. XD Glad you like her! ^_^

Jak656: I was originally thinking of doing it that way when originally planning the chapter, but then I didn't think that gave enough opportunity for Miku to be sneaky... or to deserve the punishment she got. XDD

Aiko Hamano: Lily x Miki is definitely cute, not gonna deny that, same with Neru x Haku! I just thought I'd toy around a little with them here XD; Thanks for the review!

Seishun Vibration: Pretty sure we've covered everything in our PMs, but still wanted to thank you for reviewing! Keep up the good work on your fics too!

SinnersLikeUs: XDDD That is pretty much how the kiss played out! And glad you like poor Len-chan's nickname! XD

Baddamobs: Thanks, I'm glad you like how I write Miki! She just screams cuteness to me anyway! ^_^ No prob on the response, I just apologize for not getting to you before. ^_^; Thanks again for reviewing!

Altair SV: Luka going ballistic is just way too fun to write. XD Glad you enjoy those parts! And I'll reveal Lily and Miki's relationship with each other as the fic goes on, don't you worry about that! I hope to see an update for your own fic too, btw! I was only able to find it recently, but I greatly enjoy it thus far!

Artemis: Yup, that scene was inspired by Azumanga Daioh's scene with Osaka getting her nickname. XD Couldn't resist, I love that scene! And I'm sure Gumi and Miku would appreciate the visits, moreso if you bring a Luka plushie for Miku. :D

Chinensis' Fan: That they did, and Miku still lives to tell the tale. XD Thanks for reviewing!

BuyMeABlueLollipop: Indeed... XD

roadroller: Rin pretty much is... the sad thing is that I normally envision her with having a screw loose. XP And yeah, Len's the punching bag, but he's just so fun to pick on for some reason. XD;;

Team Konetsu: Glad you guys enjoyed it! And oh man, hope the computer was okay after that! XD About the threesome idea, I was seriously toying with that a few times. XD;;; Hope you guys will like the future updates too!

Ranshin Sitro: Yeah, that chapter was a lotta fun to write. XP As for how many chapters... I'm not really sure. XD;; Hope you'll stick around for it though!

I think I've covered everyone this time. For once. ^_^;; Please let me know what you think of it so far, I definitely appreciate all your reviews! Hope you guys like this chapter, and I'll catch you all next time! ^_^v


	9. Chapter 9

I apologize for the long wa- *ducks under incoming rotten tomato* Ahem, er, I apologize for the long wait! This one had to go through a rewrite or two (or three... or four...) before it got to something that I was happy with. ^_^;; Big thanks to everyone for reviewing! I'm glad you guys have liked it! Hope this next chapter is to your enjoyment too! ^_^v

DISCLAIMER: Maybe one day, if my plans for a hostile takeover see fruition, then I shall own the Vocaloids. Until then... Well... at least I have fanfiction.

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

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><p>Thursday night found Hatsune Miku at home, hunched over the desk in her room. A contemplative hum sounded through Miku's lips as her brow furrowed with thought. She tapped her chin with her pen as she studied the charts before her. One could probably have praised Miku for being such a dedicated student if they had taken a quick glance at this scene. After all, she was typically a slightly above average student who didn't usually like spending any more time than necessary studying or even doing her homework. In fact, she had only recently become more dedicated to her studies, since that was what she usually did when she invaded Luka's home in the evenings. But a closer look at the charts would have dispelled the illusion of Hatsune Miku the industrious student in a hurry. Oh, she was industrious alright; that could not be disputed. It was just that the content of her charts had absolutely nothing to do with any of her schoolwork.<p>

The first chart, which Miku was studying and currently marking, was in fact a chart detailing the number of nosebleeds she had suffered thus far courtesy of her beloved senpai, Megurine Luka. The line graph showed two lines: a red line, which had been the projected number, and a teal line, which gave her a visual of what the actual count was. Miku frowned. The projection had greatly underestimated the effect that the pink-haired beauty's sexiness had on her... and just today, she'd suffered another nosebleed when a fortunate gust of wind had lifted Luka's school uniform skirt enough for her to catch a very nice view of her senpai's panties, which had been white cotton with lace trim today. She had remarked to Luka (after taking a few rapid-fire pictures for posterity) that they had given the older girl a very fresh and innocent look that she greatly approved of.

Miku was once more reminded, courtesy of the Ice Princess's iron fist, that speaking one's mind was undertaken only at one's own risk.

But ah yes, the nosebleed... This brought Miku to her second chart. This one detailed the severity of said nosebleeds. Once more, Miku found she underestimated just how much blood she would lose in her pursuit of Megurine Luka. She sighed, marking in an estimated number that was for the most part accurate. She was probably only a decimal point or two off, and that wasn't really something she bothered with much. This chart made her feel more than a tad embarrassed, as she'd greatly underestimated just how much Megurine Luka would affect her. Of course, it did alarm her too, as she felt she'd made generous enough projections at the beginning... Ah well, and this was why, Miku affirmed to herself, one always went into battle with a flexible plan. She scribbled in a few sums and punched a few numbers into a calculator she kept on hand before writing down a few more numbers.

Miku's math teachers might have been astonished and perhaps even proud to see her doing so well on these, as she had rarely bothered to pay much attention in class.

Miku grimaced at the sums she reached and then went to her final chart, one that detailed how much she would need to intake in order to replenish lost supplies of blood. She sighed. Once more, the projected calculations had been far below what the actual requirements were, and she was glad in the beginning that her genes had gifted her with naturally amazing abilities of recovery. That, and also her sheer energy and enthusiasm could keep her going when nutrition failed, but she knew that logistics was also a key component of battle, and indeed, a cornerstone for any strategy. She nodded to herself as she marked down the last of the dots, and then went back to studying her charts. It was astonishing, and yet also not, to see that the number and severity of nosebleeds pointed to an alarming increase in both. It was astonishing because the figures were, scientifically speaking, pretty damn high. It was also not astonishing because... well... the Ice Princess _did _have a body to kill for. Sometimes, just the memory of such incidents was enough to trigger another nosebleed attack... Like when they went to see that crappy horror movie together on their first date. Sometimes Miku would just sit back and think on how it had felt having Luka's warm body pressed against hers, her ample chest pressing against her arm as she screwed her eyes shut, her hair close enough that Miku could get a good whiff of the sweet-smelling shampoo she'd used mixed with her own scent and-

"Ack!"

Hurriedly, Miku grabbed at some tissues from the box she kept at her desk and began furiously dabbing at her nose, as well as her mouth. She grumbled under her breath as she mopped herself up and crumpled up the blood and drool-stained tissues into a ball that she tossed into the trash. Another part of her logistics, which she had forgotten to take into account at first, was all the tissue boxes she needed to purchase... Not for the first time, Hatsune Miku was glad she was a girl and not a boy, because then, given the kind of effect Luka had on her, she would've probably needed to go to one of those crazy superstores like they had in America and buy herself some gigantic pack that had about twenty boxes or so... Miku sighed as she clicked the end of her pen and organized her charts before putting them away.

"The things I do for love..."

Well, not that she had any regrets. Sure, Luka-senpai was pretty defensive now, which she demonstrated by being more withdrawn and quicker to violence than normal, but this was nothing unexpected. And she was so cute when she was flustered~

And besides, Miku thought, dealing with logistics wasn't _all_bad! She hungrily eyed the plate on her desk, piled high with chocolate chip cookies (to replenish her blood supply of course!) and an enormous glass of milk (because no chocolate chip cookie is complete without milk!) to go along with it. Miku grinned happily as she seized a cookie.

"Itadakimasu~~~!"

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><p>As Akita Neru trudged to her destination, she thought over once more that she really hated mornings. What was there to like about mornings? She always managed to wake up with bed hair, and because she had such long hair, it took forever to comb it out. The sunlight was always too god damn bright. The temperature was always either too hot or too cold, and her pajamas and sheets always adjusted in just the right way to accent her misery depending on what kind of morning it was. Today had been a very cold morning, so of course her sheets had decided to turn into a yellow and white blob at the foot of her bed and her pajama top had come completely undone during the night to make her just that much colder. The fact that her pajama shirt had been completely open this morning also came as a two-for-one deal for life by being able to cheerfully remind her once more that, yes, her breasts were still as tiny as ever.<p>

It was amazing how many middle fingers life could throw at a person in a single go.

About the only thing that kept Neru's mornings livable was the fact that the vending machines on Yamaha High's campus offered a great selection. Her eyes lit up with relief as she approached the vending machine, shifting her book bag from her hand to between her left arm and her body as she fished out her wallet from her skirt pocket. Neru fished out the necessary coins and slipped them into the slot after replacing her wallet. Thank God that she had been born into an era with vending machines that served coffee, she thought. Neru hadn't the slightest idea how she'd be able to survive mornings without it. And for a vending machine to offer such a great selection made things even better. She was also glad she was born into an era with cell phones, because she wasn't sure how she'd get by without her cell phone either. Not that it was an addiction, of course. It was just something that she liked having with her, that was all. Screw Lily-senpai and her damnable comments, Neru thought adamantly, it wasn't an addiction and that was that!

_"__**GOOD **__**MORNING, **__**NERU-CHII!**__**"**_

Neru screamed in alarm at the sound of that energetic, high-volume greeting booming into her left ear. In her alarm, she sent her book bag flying, saved from an unpleasant fate of hitting the ground unceremoniously by a slender hand catching it in midair and then presenting it back to her. Even before Neru looked up to see the jaunty grin, she knew exactly who it was, and for this reason, she aimed a slap at the person's face. Her hand was caught effortlessly, the grin spread over the taller blonde's face widening with amusement.

"Don't scare me like that, you idiot!" Neru blared. She was still in the process of getting her racing heart back under control, and she was sure that the sudden fright had shaved a few years off of her life.

Lily chuckled. "And a pleasant morning to you too!' she chirped in a fashion that said, "I feel like being annoying today and now I am going to annoy you because I am annoying and you are available! Hurray!"

Neru grumbled darkly under her breath as she snatched her book bag back, and Lily draped an arm over her shoulders. "Aw, c'mon!" she cajoled merrily. "Is it a crime for me to wanna surprise my cute little kouhai that I don't see often in the mornings cuz she's grouchy and anti-social?"

"Wh-Who're you calling grouchy and anti-social?" Neru snapped, bristling with irritation. "And it _is _a crime when you nearly kill me by giving me a heart attack!"

"Aww, you're too young to get those, Neru-chii!" the older girl chirped, clapping her shoulder enthusiastically. "Maybe give it sixty or so more years when you're a cranky grandmother sipping your tea, ne?"

_Stupid __senpai... _Neru thought as she rolled her eyes. She turned to return to her business of purchasing her drink, her eyes flitting between white chocolate and vanilla. For some reason, most people were surprised to discover that Neru had a sweet tooth. She didn't understand why exactly that was. After all, sweet foods just tasted better, and in that same vein, sweeter coffees just tasted better too. But today was not going to be a day when she had a sweeter coffee, for Masuda Lily suddenly reached out with an "Ei!" and made the selection for her.

In outrage, Neru gaped, her hands outstretched in a way that clearly conveyed a "Dude, what the fuck!" kind of reaction. Unnoticing, and/or uncaring, Lily bent down and extracted the dark chocolate mocha she had selected with Neru's money and cracked the can open. Still choked with outrage, all Neru could emit was a series of incoherent but clearly angry sounds as Lily began gulping down the drink, finally parting with it with a satisfied "Ahh!" The older blonde turned over to her, blinking with apparent surprise. "Y'know, if you keep that up, your face'll freeze."

The voicing of this possibility did not have much effect on Neru, as she screeched, "Wh-Wh-What the hell, senpai! That was my money! And you bought that nasty, bitter-tasting crap! What the hell!"

Blinking, Lily glanced at the can, as if just noticing it. "What, this? This isn't bitter." Glancing back down at Neru out of the corners of her eyes, a corner of her mouth curved upward in a wicked fashion as she sang, "But I suppose children might think so~~~"

Neru flushed, at first looking shocked, and then burning with outrage. "I-I-I am _not _a child, damn you!" she shouted. She was vaguely aware she was being goaded into rage, but chose not to listen to that part of her head for now. Angrily, she swiped the can from Lily as it was offered to her. Glaring up at her smirking senpai, she snarled, "Since this was bought with _my _money, I guess I'm stuck with this! And I _can _handle this nasty-tasting liquid crap that you bought, thank you very much! I just prefer not to!" As if to demonstrate, she began chugging down the coffee, emptying it down to the last drop. By the time Neru parted with it, she was panting, having scarcely even taken a breath between shouting and then drinking.

Lily gazed down at her in amusement. In mock surprise, she said, "Ooh, so you really can handle that~ I'm impressed! My little Neru-chii is growing up~ Wai~~~!" She began clapping enthusiastically.

"Oh shut up, you idiot," Neru spat. "And you better pay me back for that. That still tasted nasty."

"Tch, you shouldn't be so stingy with money~" Though Lily's voice was pitched into a sulky whine, there really wasn't even the slightest trace of concern in her expression.

The younger blonde continued to glower at her. Lily responded by rubbing her head and flashing her a jaunty grin. "Gotta run. Catch ya later, yeah?"

She jogged off to do whatever she was going to do, leaving Neru behind scowling after her. _Tch... __What __a __troublesome __senpai..._ But... Neru supposed it wasn't so bad. After all, that was just a part of who Lily was, and part of the package of getting to know Masuda Lily was being bullied by her. Neru sighed resignedly as she shook her head, but then slowly paused.

_She... I..._

Neru looked down at the can she was holding, eyes wide as her face reddened rapidly. They had... both sipped out of the same can... Neru covered her lips with her fingers, flushing hotly, but her eyes displaying a happiness that she tried to hide as best as she could behind her usual indifference.

_H-How __embarrassing __to __get __like __this __over __something __as __childish __and __immature __as __an __indirect __kiss... __But..._

She brushed her lips with her fingers, a ghost of a smile tugging at a corner of her mouth.

_I... I guess I liked it..._

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><p>Seeing how they had gone the past two days without seeing so much as a corner of a sheet from their quizzes on Tuesday, class 1-D had hoped against hope that they would never see their scores. Of course, hoping against hope is generally an inadvisable tactic, seeing how it merely sets one up for crushing disappointment, and fate chose not to disappoint as their teacher pulled out the stack containing their graded quizzes. The overall reaction to the scores was negative, and the bellyaching was allowed to go on full force, seeing as how the quizzes were not passed back until the end of class. Most of Miku's group of friends had done quite well, Rin and Len both having the top scores at 95 percent each, and even Miki managing to get herself into a solid B range. She had sighed with happy relief when she had finally managed to force one eye open and look at her quiz, the other remaining adamantly closed until she processed she had gotten a B+.<p>

"Oh, thank goodness!"

Miku glanced over at her friend's score before breaking out into a broad grin. "Wow! Congrats, Miki-chan! Not bad at all, especially since you'd just gotten in the class!"

"Un!" Miki scratched her cheek sheepishly as she continued, "This school's actually ahead of what I was learning at my old school, so I was really scared that I'd do badly..." Miki instantly brightened as she turned to the Kagamine twins, who had just finished reviewing their quizzes for their errors. "You guys did so well though! You guys must really study hard, huh?"

They rubbed the backs of their heads, smiling sheepishly. "Eh, something like that~" Rin tittered.

What she did not mention was that, to her utmost chagrin, Len barely needed to study at all for anything. When it was time for the genetic lottery to dole out strengths and weaknesses to the Kagamine twins, it was Len who was blessed with having greater intelligence than his sister. Ever since they'd been young, Len had always been quicker to pick up on things than Rin, much to the older twin's dismay. Unwilling to accept defeat and determined to be ahead of him in all things, or at least, as many things as she could, Rin worked her ass off to maintain what she perceived to be her status and respect as the older sibling. And of course, in the name of pride, this also meant that she _never _asked Len for help for anything, even when she could feel the younger twin looking at her uncomfortably as she struggled with certain parts. But as a result of her hard work, Rin was able to match Len's scores in nearly any academic subject they did. On the rare occasions that she was not able to do so, she would sulk and mope for hours, sometimes even days. To this end, sometimes Len made sure to miss one or two more problems extra.

Frankly, Len did not see what was the big honking deal, especially since they were twins, but opted to humor his "onee-chan" all the same.

"Just as you'd expect from twins!" Miku chirped. She turned toward the occupant of the seat behind her, one of the two members of their group who had been silent (since Neru usually did just keep to herself anyway). "What'd you get, Gumi-chan?"

All eyes (except for Neru's) turned to the greenette. Gumi grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Hehe... Well... Um... I didn't do so hot..."

Miku leaned forward as Gumi flipped the quiz to show her score. The tealette blinked before saying, "Wow... That's bad, dude."

"Yeah... It's totally not fair of teachers to ambush their students with crap like this after lunch though!" Gumi pouted. "It's not right!"

"That's why I'm telling you, if you just studied a little, you'd be alright..." Rin sighed in exasperation. She got out of her seat and over to Gumi, holding her hand out as she said, "Here, lemme see. I might be able to give you some pointers."

"Sure."

The quiz changed hands. From beside Rin, Miki peered curiously at Gumi's score. It was interesting to note how the exact same stimulus produced two completely different responses from the two girls. For Miki's part, her curiosity quickly faded into an uncertain expression, a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of her head. She chewed her lower lip, obviously trying to find a way to be nice. Rin, on the other hand, at first looked surprised and then steadily became increasingly unimpressed, her left eye twitching every so often. The white ribbon in her hair seemed to droop in a "Are you freaking kidding me?" kind of manner.

"W-Well..." Miki mumbled, poking her fingers together uncomfortably. "I... I guess the teacher might have had some fun with reading these answers... I guess..."

"Ehehe... You think? That'd be kinda cool, actually. It'd at least mean some good came outta it!" Gumi cheered.

"Gumi-chan," Rin said flatly.

"Hm?"

"This... This is..."

"Yeah?"

"This is pathetic," Rin proclaimed in a clearly unimpressed tone.

Gumi rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Yaa, well... y'know... I... I don't test well! Especially when ambushed!"

A vein pulsed at Rin's temple. "Don't give me those piss poor excuses!" she exploded. "What... Gumi-chan, what the _crap _is this? !" She violently waved the quiz in Gumi's face.

The greenette looked genuinely confused. "My... quiz?" she replied in a cautious, uncertain tone, apparently wondering if this was a trick question of sorts.

"You... You _failed!_"

"At least it was an epic failure?" Gumi asked, offering a nervous grin.

"Don't make jokes, you imbecile!" Rin slapped the test with the backs of her fingernails. "Did you even _try?_ You got like a thirty percent!"

"I-It's all about perspective, y'know..." Gumi mumbled lamely, poking her fingers together. "I mean, in baseball, a thirty percent batting average is pretty good..."

"APOLOGIZE TO THE BASEBALL PLAYERS FOR DRAGGING THEM INTO YOUR WEAK ASS ARGUMENT!" Rin roared. She brought the paper fan Len had obediently slipped into her hand crashing down on the greenette's head.

"Ow!" Gumi whined, rubbing the bump at the top of her head. "That hurts, y'know..."

The short blonde ignored her complaint and rolled right over her. "Look at this crap! Seriously, did you even try?"

"O-Of course I did..."

"You wrote 'Moe, moe, kyun!' as your answer to the first question!"

"It sounded right at the time..." Gumi mumbled lamely.

"This was a physics quiz! How in the hell would it have sounded right at _all? __!_"

Gumi scowled. "What does it matter anyway?" she huffed in a pouting fashion. "It's not like I'm gonna be using any of this crap again once I get outta here!"

Rin gave a half-shrug in a "You've got a point there" kind of manner. She had to admit, she wasn't studying her ass off with this garbage for the sake of her health. While she had yet to decide what she wanted to do in the future as far as a career went, she at least sincerely doubted she would need to know Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion or any of that other crap to accomplish it.

But while the blonde was willing to concede this point, protest came from a most unexpected direction as Miki surged to her feet and cried, "You can't!"

Even Neru looked up from her phone as all their friends looked at her. Not even noticing, Miki marched up to Gumi's desk. "You can't think like that, Gumi-chan!" she scolded. "You never know what you can really do unless you try!"

In contrast to the fired up look in Miki's eyes, Gumi stared back in shock. The redhead had also taken the opportunity to clasp both of Gumi's hands between her own, and she became aware of the warmth this generated in her hands and in her face. She reddened deeply, almost to the same shade as Miki's hair.

Oblivious to the effect she had, Miki continued with her little motivational speech. "I know you can do better if you just tried, Gumi-chan! We can do it!"

"W-We...?" Gumi repeated weakly.

"Un!" Miki's ahoge bounced with her emphatic nod, apparently nodding itself. "We'll fight together! Let's both give it our best, Gumi-chan!"

The greenette gulped, especially since Miki's face, whether she knew it or not, had drawn uncomfortably close to her own. She was also aware of Miki's determined stare also being accompanied by a low humming noise. "Wh... What're you doing, Miki-chan...?"

Straightening into a standing position, Miki flashed her a sunny smile and chirped, "I was transferring some of my motivation to you! Did you feel it?"

Gumi had felt something alright. Except what she had felt didn't quite feel like motivation, as she had never known motivation to generate sweaty palms or excessive amounts of body heat. Swallowing hard, Gumi averted her eyes, mumbling lamely, "I... I guess I can try harder..."

"Un! That's the spirit, Gumi-chan!"

Among those observing the exchange, probably the one watching with the most interest was Akita Neru. She stared in a dumbstruck fashion at them. Neru's left eye began twitching. From the way she had acted towards Gumi... and the way that the mega-pervert had responded... There was no doubt about it... This greedy whore really was trying to start a harem!

_Gumi whimpered softly as Miki bent down toward her, her ahoge swaying side to side in a strangely mesmerizing fashion. "M-Miki-sama..." she whispered. "Please... Th-This is embarrassing..."_

_Miki merely chuckled darkly, her grip on the leash connected to Gumi's collar tightening as she pulled her closer. "It is, isn't it? And you're enjoying it, you dirty girl..."_

"_N-No... I-I'm not... I'm not like that..." Her blush and the flicker of desire in her eyes said otherwise._

"_Miki-chii..." came a plaintive whine from Miki's other thigh. The redhead looked down to acknowledge Lily, who was resting her head on her thigh and looking up at her imploringly. "Play with me too..."_

_Miki smirked down at the blonde, stroking her cheek and brushing her lips with her thumb, sending shivers through the older girl as she parted her lips to submissively take her thumb into her mouth. "Now, now~ No need to get impatient, Lily-nee-sama~ There's plenty of me to go around~~~" She giggled darkly..._

Meanwhile, outside of Neru's delusion and in the realm of reality, her friends had taken notice of Neru and the fact that her face had paralyzed itself into a mask of unspeakable horror. They all glanced at each other and blinked. Gumi snapped her fingers in front of Neru's face, calling, "Neru-chan. Oi, Neru-chan. Earth to Neru-chan?"

No response.

Miku tipped her head to the side, frowning thoughtfully. "Man, she's really out of it, isn't she?"

"Does... Neru-chan do this a lot?" Miki asked, having known Neru the least amount of time out of all of them. She continued to gaze worriedly at her.

"Ehh... Not really," Rin said, though her tone suggested she was unsure herself. They'd only known her starting from this year, after all.

They all glanced around at each other and shrugged helplessly. Not much to be done for Neru in this state after all.

"Well," Miku remarked with a lopsided smile. "At least she's not banging her head on a wall like that one time at Gumi-chan's house."

"Huh?" Miki's ahoge formed a question mark.

"It was before you were here, Miki-chan," Miku explained. "We were all hanging out at Gumi-chan's house at the time and we walked in while Gumi-chan was watching a movie."

Miki nodded in understanding, not noticing how the Kagamine twins had simultaneously reddened and averted their gazes at the memory. In addition, everyone failed to notice that Neru had come to during this time, though the horrified expression made itself at home on her face again from the terrible memories... Inaudibly, she muttered, "N-No... Lily... senpai... I... I..."

Not noticing, Miku continued, "We're not really sure why, but Neru-chan suddenly started screaming and banging her head against a wall-"

"_**AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ! ! ! !"**_

The sudden scream took everybody off guard, and soon, all eyes were focused on Akita Neru slamming her head repeatedly against her desk, screaming hysterically at the top of her lungs.

"_**NO! NO! NO, NO, NO! KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS! I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"**_

"Ack! Neru-chan, stop that!" Miku yelled, trying to restrain her as best as she could.

"N-N-Neru-chan! Please calm down!" Miki cried, leaping to her friend's aid.

The others got up, trying to keep the hysterical Neru from smashing her brains to pieces on her desk, and even a few of the other students joined in on the effort. Though they did succeed in saving her skull, Neru remained hysterical and carried right on with the screaming.

"Er, was it something like this, Miku-chan?" Miki asked while clinging onto one of Neru's arms and trying to avoid getting kicked.

Miku was clinging to Neru's other arm, as she replied with an awkward grin, "Pretty much."

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><p>It took a long while for Neru to calm down, so it was fortunate that their homeroom teacher had actually decided to call a study hall for their last period. But eventually, she did calm down. At the moment, she was sitting in her seat as she fiddled with her cell phone, looking as if nothing unusual had happened. And really, without the white X-shaped bandage covering her forehead, most people could have believed that. Well, assuming they hadn't been present for her psychotic breakdown, which, unfortunately, they all had been.<p>

Miku sighed, tilting her head back to look at the ceiling. "Midterms are coming up pretty soon, huh?"

"Yeah," Rin answered, not sounding particularly thrilled about it herself. "Week after the next, and we'll be having them through the whole week."

"Boo..." the tealette pouted.

Miki fidgeted worriedly. "I... I dunno how I'm gonna do on those... I'm so new to so much of the material; it's a little scary..."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Miki-san," Len said with an encouraging smile.

The redhead tittered. "Th-Thanks, Len-chan! It's nice of you to say that!"

Though she said that with utmost cuteness and sincerity, the result left Len hunched over gloomily in his desk, muttering, "Len-chan... Even you call me that, Miki-san... Len-chan... Len-chan..."

An aura of soul-crushing depression surrounded him as his face sank into the pillow offered by his arms. Patting her younger twin's head comfortingly for the moment, Rin suggested, "Hey, why don't we do some study sessions for the midterms then? Y'know, we can go over the stuff together, help each other out and all."

Miki's face lit up with a bright smile. "Ooh, I'd love that! I'm in! Gumi-chan and I need all the help we can get for the midterms, I'm sure!"

"Ehhhh? !" Gumi whined. "Hey now, I never said anything about-!"

Miki had turned to her, a happy and also very expectant smile on her face. "You'll come, won't you, Gumi-chan?"

"C-C-Come...? M-Me? Er, I... I-I..." The greenette reddened, swallowing hard especially when her mind dived right for the gutter (it was actually quite amazing that it even climbed out every so often). Glancing around only confirmed that the rest of their friends were all grinning at her expense, the Kagamine twins in particular looking quite sinister. She turned her eyes back to Miki, who was smiling at her, her smile remaining full of innocence as ever. Gumi's face heated up a few degrees more before she averted her gaze, finding the linoleum to be suddenly fascinating. She mumbled, "Er... Y-Yeah... Um... I'm in..."

Aiming a final smirk at the embarrassed greenette, Rin looked past Miki to look over at Neru. "How about you, Neru-chan?"

The response was a terse and simple, "Un."

"I'll join too!" Miku chirped.

"Yay! We're all gonna be there!" Miki cried happily. But while she was excited about doing something as mundane as having a study session with friends, the rest of the group, even Neru, observed Miku with some surprise.

Rin blinked. "Um... Miku-chan, I was thinking we'd do a lotta study sessions before the midterms, y'know..."

"Un!" No loss of enthusiasm.

"As in like... after school, and stuff too..."

"Yup!" Still no loss of enthusiasm.

"..."

Miku opened her eyes, which had shut in the face of her massive grin, to look around at her friends as they gazed curiously at her. Reading the question clearly stated in their gazes, she grinned again. "It's okay! I planned to give Luka-senpai some space anyway! Besides, I wanna do well on my midterms! Gotta keep my grades up, yeah?"

They stared at her, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Besides!" Miku's eyes gleamed sinisterly, accenting the eager grin on her mouth. "Maybe I can coax another date out of her if I do well~~~"

Sweatdrops all around, with awkward grins from most of them. _I __knew __it..._

Recovering first, Rin said, "Mm'kay, well, today's Friday and I don't think we've got any plans, so should we go to the library after school today?"

"Ah, today's not possible," Miku said, waving a hand in front of herself from side to side. They all looked over at her curiously. She explained, "There's some place I wanna take Luka-senpai to after school today. But starting from tomorrow, I'm good!"

Rin sighed, smiling with exasperated affection at her friend. Even if Miku could be a bit strange and even scary when it came to dealing with Megurine Luka, she still knew how to do normal things every so often. She still didn't approve of Luka, since she didn't like the idea of Miku being in a relationship with someone who constantly beat the crap out of her (and she'd been getting more violent this past week...), but she figured as long as Miku was happy and as long as she knew what she was doing, it was fine.

"Yeah, that's cool," Rin said. "What say we meet up at the library tomorrow at... mm, is eleven okay with everyone?"

Nods all around. Rin nodded back.

"Great! See you all then!"

* * *

><p>Even by the time the bell rang to signal the end of school for the day, Neru's embarrassment still had not completely faded. She sighed softly, the sound lost amid the stampeding footsteps of the Miku Express departing from their classroom, as well as the coughing of the students still getting ready to leave. Neru just absently waved aside the dust cloud that had pretty much filled the classroom, finishing with packing her things and getting up out of her seat, nodding her farewells to her friends as they left too. There was still a soft pink tinge of embarrassment coloring her cheeks, which she tried to play off as much as possible behind her mask of indifference. She had just been about to turn and head off for her shoe locker when a worried voice asked, "Neru-chan, are you alright?"<p>

She looked up from her cell phone to see none other than Furukawa Miki peering at her, her expression as worried as her tone. Neru was taken aback, though she naturally suppressed any sign of it from displaying itself. Making sure that she had herself under control first, she replied, "Yes, I'm fine."

Without even the slightest sign that she was going to ask for permission, Miki reached out and touched her forehead. Neru winced at the touch, her forehead still feeling more than a bit tender from all the banging she'd done earlier. She also looked at her in astonishment, and more than a little curiosity. Miki seemed oblivious to this, as she frowned at her fingers touching the bandage on Neru's head.

"If it hurts, you don't have to keep quiet about it, Neru-chan," Miki said softly. Smiling gently, she started rubbing her forehead tenderly, chanting quietly, "Pain, pain, go away~"

Neru flushed, though whether with outrage or embarrassment, she wasn't sure. What did this girl take her for, some kind of child that could be cured by some idiotic and childish remedy? But... Well, she hated to admit it, but she did feel much better already... And it didn't throb quite so much for some reason. Miki aimed a rather cute smile at her once she was finished.

"There!" she chirped. "It should feel much better now, Neru-chan!"

The flabbergasted blonde blinked up at her (not for the first time ruing her slight height deficit). She averted her gaze as she mumbled softly, "Um... Thanks..."

"Aww, you don't have to thank me, Neru-chan! We're friends, ne? Friends are supposed to do this kinda thing for each other!"

That cheerful, almost childishly piping voice was having a surprising effect on Neru, who was now beginning to feel strangely nervous in her presence. This cuteness... This was unnatural! This was a weapon, a weapon whose power she had not suspected! In contrast to the innocent smile that Miki was displaying, Neru's face responded with trepidation. She was helpless in front of this... was this the cuteness that had brought even the likes of the ultra-pervert Kamui Gumi to her knees?

...Actually, come to think of it, that had been a lot of different factors all working together, and frankly, Gumi's own perverted tendencies had chosen those moments to come back and bite her in the ass, so Neru decided that didn't actually count.

Even so... what was with this damnable cuteness that made her seize up in the face of it? Neru froze at a sudden thought. Was she... Was she targeting her for her harem too? ! The blonde flushed ten different shades of red one after another.

_N-No way...! I refuse! I won't let her have me!_

Miki blinked, noticing that Neru had started seemingly overheating. She looked at her with worried confusion. Neru seemed so agitated... She wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she had to do something; it couldn't be good for Neru's health to be like this. Suddenly, Miki's ahoge formed a light bulb shape as she tapped her palm with her fist. Of course!

* * *

><p><strong>Tuesday...<strong>

"_**KIIIIIII! **__**! **__**! **__**! **__**!**__**"**_ Neru screeched furiously, waving her fists angrily over her head.

Miki continued to cower, covering her head with her hands in the face of Neru's wrath. "What'd I do? !" she wailed. "Please stop being so angry, Neru-chan! I don't understand!"

"_**KIIIIIIIIIIII! **__**! **__**! **__**! **__**! **__**!**__**"**_ was Neru's highly informative rejoinder.

Beside the infuriated blonde, whose side ponytail was still bristly with anger, Lily sighed. "Okay, you two, that's enough."

This did nothing to stop Neru, who continued hissing down at Miki. Haku had covered her mouth with her hands worriedly, unsure what to do as she looked helplessly at Lily and silently begged her to do something. Lily noticed and nodded at her. She sighed again resignedly as she rubbed the back of her head. Cracking her knuckles, she declared with determination, "Okay, time for my trump card!" She opened her arms wide and then, with a shouted "Ei!", gathered the infuriated blonde into her arms.

As if by a switch, all of Neru's rage evaporated. Her face had now frozen into a mask of surprise and uncertainty, and Lily took this opportunity to raise one hand up to her head and begin petting her as if she were some sort of cute furry animal.

"There, there, Neru-chii. It's alright. Good Neru-chii~" Lily cooed as she continued petting her.

Miraculously, Neru's side ponytail went back to normal as she slowly calmed, relaxing underneath her senpai's touch. Her ahoge standing up in wonder, Miki gaped in open-mouthed amazement at seeing what had once been a feral Neru acting like a well-behaved pet, even going so far as to lean back against the older girl and closing her eyes in contentment. At her shock, Lily grinned broadly, catching Miki's attention.

"Y'see, Miki-chii, Neru-chii's weak to petting. I'm not sure how it works or why, but it works, which is good enough for me! It never fails!" As if to demonstrate, she continued rubbing Neru's head affectionately and cooed, "Isn't that right, Neru-chii? Yes, you like being petted, yes you do~! Kyaa, you're so cute like this, Neru-chii~~~"

Even though ordinarily she probably would have reacted with annoyance, the younger girl continued to relax into her, eyes still closed as she displayed a mask of contentment that no one else at the table could honestly confess they'd ever seen before.

* * *

><p><strong>Present...<strong>

Miki beamed, proud of herself for remembering that tidbit of wisdom Lily-nee-chan had bestowed on her. Gingerly, she reached out for Neru, aware that her feral golden eyes were tracking the movement with caution. Slow and steady, as if Neru really were a furry and (extremely) upset creature she was attempting to tame, she reached out, drawing closer and closer. Smiling gently, Miki's fingers touched the soft blonde hair on Neru's head. She then lowered her palm onto her head and began stroking gently.

For her part, Neru stared blankly at her, her expression rather easily summed up as a "are you fucking kidding me?" kind of expression. This did not deter the redhead in the least, as she continued petting her.

"It's okay, Neru-chan~" she cooed. "Calm down. Good girl~"

_Wh-Wh-What __the __hell! _Neru demanded in her head. _Just __what __is __up __with __this __idiot? __! __Does __she __really __think __doing __something __as __stupid __and... __and... __ooh, __this __feels __nice... __er... __I __mean, __as __stupid __and __lame __as...! __Ah... __I-I __could __get __used __to __this..._

She slowly calmed down, enjoying the head rub and unable to hide it in any possible way. Miki giggled.

"Uwaa~~~" she squeaked with delight. "Neru-chan, you're so cute like this! You're just like a kitten~!"

_K-Kitten? __! _Neru's wrath returned in full force. _Damn __you, __I__'__ll __show __you __that __this __kitten __has __claws, __you... __you... __Ah..._

Her anger vanished as Miki continued petting her, wholly oblivious to the blonde's mood swings. She sighed in defeat, letting Miki pet her.

_Dammit... Why does this feel so good...? It's not fair..._

Miki was grinning happily, giggling at her conquest, no doubt... Neru sighed inaudibly.

_You win this round... Bitch... Better keep petting me, jackass... Ugh, I cannot believe I just thought that..._

* * *

><p>Luka had just finished putting away her school-issue shoes when a powerful gust of wind blew past her, along with the yelps of several scandalized girls screaming "Kyaa!" and holding down their skirts, more students coughing, and one groaning, "M... Medic...!" She turned her head to acknowledge the million-watt smile of Hatsune Miku, who stood not too far from her, holding her book bag behind her with both hands.<p>

"Hi, senpai!" she greeted cheerfully.

"H-Hello, Hatsune-san..."

She'd been feeling a bit uneasy around her this week, and it hadn't helped at all that the pest remained completely oblivious and continued to crowd her all the time... That annoying, stupid girl... Sighing imperceptibly, Luka got ready to leave, knowing that the pest would continue to be with her on the walk back... and invading her home... What a wonderful start to her weekend, she thought sourly. To her surprise, Miku suddenly raised both of her arms up, as if looking for a hug. Luka flinched backwards, already tensed defensively.

"Wh-Wh-What?" she demanded, looking like she was ready to sprint off in the opposite direction (and which probably wouldn't have been much use... though Luka was a fast sprinter, Hurricane Miku was... well... a hurricane).

Oblivious to her nervousness, Miku exclaimed, "Senpai! I'd like to take a detour today!"

A chill ran up Luka's spine, especially considering that Miku's million-watt smile had apparently doubled in brightness. Her eye twitched with dread. "Er... A... detour...?"

"Un!"

Luka stared at her, turning pale.

_She's going to rape me. She's going to use that handkerchief that she stole from me and knock me out with chloroform and then tie me up and then rape me and then smoke a cigarette while I sob my eyes out and then she'll rape me again and oh my God, does she even smoke? Does that even matter? I have to get away from her, but damn her, she's faster than I am and..._

"Uhhh... senpai? You okay?" Miku asked, confused.

"O-O-Of course I'm okay! Ahaha!" Luka exclaimed, her eye twitching madly. Her tone dropped into suspicion. "Why wouldn't I be okay?" Was she stepping closer?

"Uh... No reason... It's just that... you kinda started hyperventilating."

After having it pointed out, Luka realized that she really had started hyperventilating. Swallowing hard, she began to take deep breaths until she had calmed down a bit, though she still couldn't help the sheen of cold sweat that had started on her forehead. "N-Nonsense..." she said in as haughty a voice as she could muster. "I'm p-perfectly fine!"

_Stop __stammering! _Inner Luka screamed, smacking her repeatedly with a tuna. _And __stop __quivering!_

_I'm not quivering!_

_Yes, you are! Look at your hands!_

Luka looked down and saw that her hands were indeed shaking. She took a slow, deep breath to settle her nerves, the trembling steadily subsiding. It really was not fair what kind of fear this girl could strike into her... Gulping, she said in an astoundingly calm voice, "Uh. Yes. I'm fine."

Miku looked at her dubiously but said hesitantly, "Well, okay... Anyways!" Her enthusiasm came back in full force. "Like I said, there's some place I wanna stop by on the way back!"

In a tone full of dread, Luka asked, "And... that is...?"

The two million-watt smile brightened a bit more, her teal eyes gleaming before they shut in the face of the economy-sized grin. "Ehe~"

* * *

><p>"If it was a coffee shop you wanted to go to, you could have just said so..."<p>

"Yeah, I suppose," Miku conceded, her tone unaffected despite her semi-sort-of-not-really-apologetic words. "But where did you think I wanted to go, senpai?"

_A __love __hotel __without __ID __checking. __A __dark __alleyway. __An __abandoned __warehouse. __A __photo__booth __that __no __one __uses __anymore. __The __backseat __of __a __stolen __car. __The __gym __storage __shed._ _Oh, __I __can __think __of __a __**lot **__of __places __to __get __raped, __Hatsune-san..._

Despite these thoughts going through her head, Luka simply replied with a vague shrug as she took a sip of her ice water. Miku let this go with a shrug and resumed looking around as she waited for their orders to come out. Luka didn't blame her; the coffee shop sported a very classy décor, with comfortable seats and a very clean, welcoming interior. This was a place definitely invited one to relaxation. And that just happened to be something Luka was having trouble doing at the moment.

She sighed quietly. This whole week, she'd been uneasy around Miku. Well, ever since the little brat had kissed her a week ago, she'd been uneasy around her. She wasn't quite sure why either. Well, Miku was the first of her suitors to successfully kiss her, and thus had claimed Luka's first kiss, something that the pinkette was understandably not happy about. She supposed it was a bit of a silly, childish hope, but she had hoped to share her first kiss with someone that she loved, not lose it to some noisy, hyperactive teal-haired brat deciding to suddenly snog her after tackling her to the floor. Okay, so that wasn't _exactly _how it had broken down, but still...

It wasn't really just the kiss that bothered her though. _Something _had happened to her after that. Yes, she had meted out punishment for such an audacious (and highly unwelcome) advance, but she'd also felt increasingly uncomfortable around Miku. It seemed to worsen as time went on, but she wasn't sure what exactly it was. It wasn't like Luka felt this way very often. Lately, she'd wondered if she was starting to fancy her a bit, but that was just ridiculous. After all, look at her. She was just some empty-headed idiot with far too much energy and who smiled too damn much!

_Well... she can be a little cute sometimes..._

Luka shook her head violently. But even so! She was far too perverted, far too troublesome, and had absolutely no respect for the personal space of others!

"Uh... everything okay, senpai?" Miku asked after noticing Luka shaking her head violently.

"Just peachy!" the pinkette snapped sarcastically.

"Okay, just checking."

Apparently, the planet Hatsune Miku hailed from had never heard of sarcasm. Luka noted sourly to herself that she and Lily probably got along fantastically.

Her sudden anger boiled away again, still leaving her turmoil in its wake. She just didn't get it. She didn't understand why Miku had this sort of effect on her... It wasn't like she was any different from the others...

The kind of people that chased after Luka's skirt was not limited solely to the boys and girls on campus. Whenever she hung out with her friends, it always seemed that guys were trying to come up and hit on her. It was rare for her to be left alone on outings, and they were no less irritating than her constant stream of suitors and admirers in school. In fact, in some ways, they were more annoying, since Luka would often wonder why men that looked old enough to be her father were trying to get into her pants. That was all her so-called "admirers" wanted from her anyway. She wasn't blind to the way they all stared at her considerable assets. Even though she was not a particularly vain person, she knew she was very attractive in the physical sense. In fact, Lily had told her once, sharing yet another tidbit of gossip she had acquired and scribbled into her damnable notebook, that she had actually turned several straight girls gay and turned several gay guys straight from her looks alone, and this was not counting the ones that saw her and suddenly decided that they were bisexual.

Oh yes, Luka thought acidly. What a feat. It was like some kind of horrible passive ability in an RPG game; Sexiness: Chance to increase the number of characters looking to get into one's pants. Good God, if only she could re-roll and get a new passive (she blamed her strange thought pattern on her sudden interest in RPGs).

Of course, to be fair, Luka knew that not all of her admirers wanted to just get her into the nearest bed. After all, she thought with a bitter pursing of her lips, she had more than just her body. No, she was also the picture-effing-perfect princess of Yamaha High School. She was a smart and athletic girl who had top scores in just about everything she did. The perfect trophy girlfriend! She scowled with annoyance just at the thought of it. She knew Lily had wanted her to give one of her admirers a chance, at least for a little while, but surely Lily understood that a reason why she didn't was because none of them really wanted _her._ It was only natural for a girl to want to be liked for who she was, rather than just who her surface image said she was, right?

But that said, she was having trouble figuring out just what Hatsune Miku wanted from her. She sighed inaudibly again, nodding once in thanks to the waitress who brought them their coffees. Coincidentally, the two girls had both ordered white chocolate mochas, something that Miku had pointed out happily and Luka had acknowledged with an absent "Mm." She picked up her drink and sipped at it, enjoying the flavor and the aroma, but not in the same way Miku did, who sighed in a manner akin to one in the embrace of rapture.

"Wow... That is sooo good..."

Luka took this moment to study the troublesome tealette, taking another sip and letting her babble on about some topic or another. Originally, she'd figured Miku was just like all the rest, wanting either her body, her image, or both, and that given enough rejections, she'd finally get the hint and back down (and preferably _not _join her fan club, because she did not need yet _another _member for that damn thing...). But it quickly became apparent that, even though her image had been destroyed by all the times she'd flown off the handle and beat her face in, or the times she'd be caught in bed or in the mornings, when she was at her worst, Miku's interest hadn't died at all. In fact, it had seemed to _intensify, _if she was not mistaken. So that was probably ruled out.

Which left her body. This was of course a very strong possibility, especially given how the little pervert kept staring at her breasts or trying to look up her skirt, and even trying to take _pictures, _for crying out loud (Luka did _not _want to know what the brat did with those pictures...). She'd already gotten so much more than any of her previous admirers had ever gotten, and she was still sore about her first kiss being taken from her. And there was no end in sight either. Luka closed her eyes, an annoyed and yet troubled expression crossing her face.

"Wai~!" Miku's happy cry interrupted the older girl's thoughts. The chocolate cake she had ordered had finally come out. "Uwaa~ It's even bigger than it looked in the menu~!" she sighed, sparkles glimmering around her and in her eyes. A trickle of drool seeped out of a corner of her mouth as she picked up her fork. "Kyaa~ I can't wait! Itadakimasu~~~!"

Just as she was about to cut off her first bite, Luka asked in a soft, flat voice, "If I sleep with you once, will that be enough for you?"

Miku paused. She looked up, blinking confusedly at her senpai as her fork stayed frozen over where it was on the cake. "Huh?"

Luka grimaced, visibly asking herself if this was worth it to make this annoying pest go away. Even as she kept asking herself this, she continued, her voice scarcely louder than a rasp, "We both know what you want from me. I don't know whether it's cuz you just want to brag that you got to get in my pants, or just for the thrill, or whatever the hell it is that people like you do with your conquests, but I'm quite tired of it. I'm tired of your game, and it's obvious you're not going away until I give you what you want." Luka bristled, her scowl showing disgust and thinly suppressed anger. "That's all people like you want from me anyway. You're just like all the rest. You either want my image, or my body. So is that it then? Do you just want to sleep with me? And if I do that, will it finally make you leave me alone?"

Towards the end, Luka had turned a seething glare at Miku. By contrast, the tealette blinked, her expression blank. She tipped her head to the side, scratching her cheek with her left hand. "Uhh..." she began hesitantly. "I didn't really get all that, but I can answer the last three questions, since I got those at least. So, in order... Is that it then? Not really. Do I want to sleep with you? Hell to the yeah. If you do that, will I finally leave you alone? Nope."

Feeling the interrogation was over, Miku cut off a piece of her cake, salivating as she shoveled it indelicately into her mouth. As soon as the rich taste had hit her tongue, she began kicking her feet as she squealed with unbridled delight, "Mmm, this is sooo good!"

While this was going on, across the table from her, Luka was staring at her with the most dumbfounded expression in the history of dumbfounded expressions. She wasn't sure what she was expecting for responses to her rather unwise proposal, but... this had definitely not been it. Her shocked expression slowly became a confused scowl. "Wh... What...? Then... What do I have to do...?"

Miku paused, about to greedily gobble up another bite of the wonderful cake. Lowering her fork, she blinked and asked, "Huh?"

Not amused in the least, Luka's scowl deepened, more of frustration than anger. "Then what do I have to do to make you go away? What will it take for you to leave me alone?"

"Mmm..." Miku hummed with thought, tapping her chin with the index finger of her free hand, her eyes rolling toward the ceiling with thought. "Umm..." Shrugging, she replied with a grin, "Death, prolly. Or maybe a crippling accident. But it'd prolly have to leave me paralyzed from the neck down, cuz otherwise, once I got physical therapy or learned how to use a wheelchair, I'd be back to being all over you again. Ooh, a wheelchair might be fun! But then, wouldn't I get tired of it if I had to use it _all _the time?" Miku frowned thoughtfully before shrugging and relieving her fork of the cake that had been sitting on it.

Scowling fiercely, Luka snarled, "Don't make jokes at a time like this, you stupid girl! What will it take to make you go away, damn you? !"

Miku smiled at her, a gentle, vaguely amused smile that did nothing more than rile the pinkette up even more. "Didn't I just answer these?"

"SHUT UP!" Luka snapped. "You... What gives you the right to just barge in on my life and do as you please? I got along _perfectly _fine until you just had to show up! You attach yourself to my hip when I'm at school, you disturb my sleep in the mornings, you fill my head with whatever garbage you spew on the walks to and from school, you invade my house every single _day, _you... you..."

She trailed off, not understanding why she was feeling so frustrated. Even though she wanted to be angry, and a part of her genuinely was angry, at the same time, another part was telling her to shut up, and she knew that both sides had differing opinions on the pest that was Hatsune Miku. Damn it, none of this made any _sense _anymore, and that was what frustrated her the most! Her jaw clenched as she shook her head, tears of frustration starting to burn her eyes even as she fought them back.

On Miku's end, she instantly noticed that Luka's distress had gotten to a point where she needed to do something other than just play dumb. Thinking quickly, she sliced off another piece of her cake. Cupping the bottom with her free hand to make sure it didn't go to waste, she called, "Senpai!"

Luka looked up, too busy keeping herself in check to snap angrily, but even if she was, it would have dried up at the sight of the cake suddenly held out to her, along with the happy tealette chirping, "Ahh~!"

The pinkette stared dumbly at the cake. "C'mon, senpai!" Miku urged. "Ahh~!"

Aggravation burned up inside of Luka again. "You... You... You stupid girl! What... Don't do retarded things like this while I'm talking! It's rude to interrupt and I'm still in the middle of trying to tell you what a terrible, awful person you are and now you're holding out this god damn cake at me! What do you think I am, some kind of child that can be so easily swayed by something as simple and mundane as a cake? A _cake?_ You really must have rocks for brains, and I'm sure I must have insulted rocks by now for even daring to compare them to you and... and..."

Frustration had very nearly overwhelmed her, as the tears managed to finally poke out at the corners of her eyes. And she _still _didn't get why she was so damn frustrated! It was all so irritating and this stupid girl with her stupid smile and her stupid cake weren't helping one bit... and that cake was looking so good right now... Her face contorting one last time in an aggravated scowl, she opened her mouth and ate the cake off of the fork. She chewed on it, and the soft, moist cake coupled with the delicious chocolate that helped make it up produced a calming effect on her. A soft noise that was partly a sob, and partly a laugh escaped her as she broke into a wavering smile.

"It... It's good..."

"Isn't it?" Miku's smile had brightened some more. Slicing off some more cake, she held it out for Luka, saying, "Ahh~!"

Luka opened her mouth and allowed herself to be fed. She was aware that this was quite embarrassing but... well, she'd rather it be like this than her bursting into frustrated tears in public. She sipped at her coffee as Miku took her own bite, once more squealing and kicking her feet with childish delight as she gushed over how amazing it was. Still, it wasn't like she didn't understand. She smiled faintly as she took another sip. She was forced to concede that, somehow despite all of Hatsune Miku's annoying qualities and how good she was at riling her up, she was also very good at calming her down. Maybe it was instinct, maybe it was just sheer dumb luck, but somehow, she'd known just how to settle her down. It was hard to tell, but Luka supposed it didn't really matter that much.

It wasn't long before the cake was nothing more than scattered crumbs, most of them having been eaten by the tealette, who had proclaimed the cake was too good to allow even the crumbs to remain. The two girls had settled into a more or less comfortable silence as they sipped at their coffees. After enjoying a sip, Miku broke the silence with a gently voiced, "Senpai."

Luka looked at her, and Miku's teal eyes met her gaze as she smiled gently, lowering her cup to the table. "There's something you're misunderstanding about me, so I feel like before we do anything else, I should clear this up."

The pinkette offered no verbal acknowledgement that she had heard, but just the way she continued to stare at her curiously silently told Miku she had the floor. The tealette's smile widened.

"I know you're frustrated with all the ones that want you just for your body or your image, and all that. You keep thinking that I'm like them though. So lemme clear this up first: I'm not like them. I don't care about your image. I told you before, I like you better as Megurine Luka than as the Ice Princess; you're cuter that way. And yeah, I think you're really hot. I haven't made any secrets about that. I'd like to sleep with you, but that's not what I want."

She fell silent, returning her attention to her coffee. Luka digested this in silence. Then, softly, she asked, "Then... what do you want from me?"

Miku's answer was a simple and plainly voiced, "Nothing."

She took another sip, and Luka stared at her in confusion, expressed by a deadpan look that did not accurately convey just how confused she was. Finishing her sip, Miku smiled, amusement twinkling in her eyes as she continued honestly, "I mean that. I don't want anything _from _you, senpai. I want _you. _That's what I want."

"I... I see..." Luka looked down into her coffee, her cheeks feeling warm as she felt suddenly quite nervous. How strange that Hatsune Miku could say such embarrassing things so easily...

She could very well just be lying about her intentions, she knew. That sort of thing was common. But somehow, she sensed a sort of truth in what Miku said. It was hard to explain, and it wasn't something she could put her finger on, but she had a very strong feeling that Miku was telling her the truth. She let out a quiet noise that was somewhat akin to a scoff, but void of any derision.

_Stupid girl..._

* * *

><p>It was fairly late by the time the girls almost finished the trip back to their neighborhood. After the rather heavy discussion they'd had in the coffee shop, they'd been making small talk. Or rather, Miku was chatting up a storm, chattering about just about everything and anything that came to mind while Luka listened patiently, smiling with faint amusement instead of tuning her out like she usually did.<p>

"You didn't have to pay for me back there, Hatsune-san."

Miku laughed lightly. "Are you still talking about that, Luka-senpai? I told you, it's no biggie! Besides, I invited you out, so it's only fair that I cover for you, ne?"

Luka sighed. The force of nature called Hatsune Miku was obviously not going to be deterred by her arguments, so she supposed she had no choice but to let it be. Maybe she'd pay her back some other time. The girls came to a stop outside of Luka's house, and after a rather tiring day, Luka had every intention of just taking a shower and then going to sleep. It was a little late for Miku to stay over anyway. She turned toward the tealette, who was grinning at her.

"Thanks for inviting me to that coffee shop with you, Hatsune-san. It was... It was nice," Luka said honestly.

"Oh, no problem, senpai!" Miku chirped. "I'm glad you liked it!"

The pinkette was about to bid her kouhai farewell for the night, but noted that she seemed strangely... giddy? Was that the word she was looking for? Well, either way, Miku definitely seemed excited, seeing how she was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, smiling broadly at Luka.

"Well?" she asked, an apparently expectant air surrounding her.

Luka blinked. "Well what?"

"Well? Aren't you gonna invite me in?" Miku asked, her excitement seeming to build even more.

Luka blinked again. "Um... but it's late."

"Oh, that's alright! Not a problem at all for me! I kinda would prefer it in the dark anyway! More romantic that way!"

Blink.

Apparently reading her hesitation as something else, Miku continued without the slightest loss of enthusiasm, "Or, y'know, we could do it at my place! My bed's pretty comfy, and it's big enough for more than one person!"

Blink. "I... I'm sorry, I... don't think I follow," Luka said hesitantly.

"Oh, c'mon!" Miku said, still wearing her expectant grin. "The offer's still on the table, right? I mean, I'm definitely not going away after doing it with you once, but we can totally have a little fun tonight, right?" She blushed, looking away coyly as she dug her toe into the ground. "I mean, it's my first time, so I can't say that I'll be any good, but if you're okay with me... Kyaa~ What am I saying at a time like this~~~?"

Luka facefaulted, a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of her head as she finally picked up on what Miku had been getting at. Why, that horny little brat... Her knuckles cracked, her body already thinking that a punch to the face would sap that sex drive in a real hurry... But just as she was about to get into the motion, she paused.

Suddenly, she had a wicked, wonderful thought.

The pink-haired beauty broke out into a smirk, her voice pitched into a seductive tone as she said breathily, "I'm afraid I'll have to pass."

The younger girl's grin was frozen on her face though her movements came to a stop. Apparently, the words had not yet registered in her mind. Slowly, her brain processed the phrase, checking and rechecking and then re-rechecking to make sure it had heard correctly. The moment when the process was complete took a while, but when it arrived, it was quite obvious as she uttered a soft, "Eh?"

"I've changed my mind~" Luka said in a snooty, unconcerned tone as she flipped her hair over her shoulder in an equally nonchalant, but no less sexy movement.

"..._EH?__!_" Miku exclaimed, triggering an evil "Ohoho~" laugh from Inner Luka.

"Good night, Hatsune-san~" Luka turned to open the door to her house.

"H-Hey! Wait a sec! Th-Th-This isn't fair!" Miku exclaimed, her scandalized voice matching her robbed expression perfectly. "You can't do this to me!"

"Watch me~" Luka sniffed.

The door slammed shut in Miku's face. The tealette's eye began to twitch, staring at the sealed portal with open-mouthed shock. Her mouth moved in convulsive, soundless spasms. After a minute, she finally found her voice.

"_**S-S-SENPAI, **__**YOU **__**TEASE! **_ _**I **__**CAN**__**'**__**T **__**BELIEVE **__**YOU**__**'**__**RE **__**SERIOUSLY **__**GOING **__**TO **__**DEPRIVE **__**YOUR **__**CUTE **__**LITTLE **__**KOUHAI! **__**YOU... **__**YOU **__**GAVE **__**ME **__**BLUE **__**BALLS, **__**SENPAI! **__**WHAT **__**THE **__**CRAP! **__**I**__**'**__**M **__**GONNA **__**RAPE **__**YOU **__**IN **__**YOUR **__**SLEEP **__**ONE **__**DAY **__**FOR **__**THIS, **__**DAMMIT! **__**DON**__**'**__**T **__**THINK **__**I **__**WON**__**'**__**T, **__**LUKA-SENPAI! **__**I **__**KNOW **__**WHERE **__**YOU **__**LIVE!**__**"**_

Inside, Luka listened to Miku's loud complaints with a wicked grin. Ahh, payback was oh-so-fun~

_I could get used to this~_

* * *

><p>End Chapter 9<p>

* * *

><p>I admit, I snickered at Miku's expense at the end while writing this. I know that Luka's turmoil really didn't last that long, but I was never intending it to anyway. XD Besides, I thought it'd be fun to have Miku doing the hysterical screaming for once~<p>

A Few Review Responses

Thyrokio: XD I gotta admit, it was fun writing that part too! Glad you liked it!

IdrewAcow: Well, I'm glad you were able to type up the review, cuz I greatly appreciate it! Thanks! :D

Ragner: Thanks for the review! Hope you like the future chapters too!

Jak656: I'm with you there. Sadly, I've confused myself WRITING this every so often too, then I look back and go like "...Wait, Miku acting innocent? o_O" XP

sawc: Actually, I've never gotten around to seeing that anime! x_x; It's long been on my "to watch" list, but I never got around to it... But thanks for reminding me of that, and thanks for the review!

OtakuGirl347: Gumi's Happy Fun Time was actually the most fun part for me to write, so it really makes me happy you liked that part! XD Thank you for the compliments!

TLoZTFH: XD I'm a lil slow on the updates, but I hope you like this one!

wheeeeeee: Working on it! :D

SinnersLikeUs: Rin's millisecond perving on Gakupo was a bit of a shoutout to ya, and to the other Gakupo/Rin fans out there. XD Thanks for the review, and keep it up with your other fics! :D

Seishun Vibration: Yeah, we've covered pretty much everything in the PMs, but thanks all the same! Keep in touch! :D

FromLovesShadow: XDD Yeah, I drew some inspiration for Neru from Higurashi, which is one of my favorites. :D Glad you like it, and to be honest, I was a huge Lily/Miki fan myself! Hell, I still have a soft spot for the pairing. XD

LukaFan: Yeah, the scam is freaking retarded. But it obviously works, cuz it seems to be quite lucrative for the scam artists. o_O;; And that actually is a fun fact! I guess that kinda explains why Luka looks so much more mature than Miku and the Kagamines. XD

pleasure: Nope, Luka-chan's too much of a tsundere. XDD But that's what makes her fun to write. :D

Baddamobs: I'm flattered at your compliments; thank you! ^_^ I hope I can keep making each character stand out on their own, and don't worry, I don't mind the long review at all! ^_^

meislovely: XDDD Your reviews crack me up, I must say! Glad you like it so far! ^_^b

sei: Will deliver moar as fast as I can! Thank you for reviewing!

UK-UnderworldKing: Yeah, I do feel bad for Len-Len, but he's just asking to be picked on! XDDD I prolly won't let up on the poor guy either. XP Thanks for the review!

Artemis: I hadn't thought of it that way, but when I took a step back, I was like "...Huh, minus the constant attempts on everyone else's life, she really is! o_O;" And yeah, I thought Miki was a nice balancer for the rest too; Miku and Gumi alone are practically criminals. XDDD

Altair Hikoboshi: Thanks for the compliments and the reviews! Likewise, I hope that you'll update your fic soon too!

roadroller: I actually was thinking of making Miku fly off like that. XD It pretty much came to a coin flip in the end, as terrible as that sounds. XP And as for Len crossdressing... Hm, that's not a bad idea. ;D

I think I got everybody so... yeah. Thank you all for your reviews, each and every last one of them makes me really happy! Hope you guys will enjoy this chapter as well, and as always, please let me know if you like it! 'Til next time! ^_^v


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you all for the reviews, you guys are great! I was actually gonna post this last night but... yeah, stuff came up, like a friend coming over to hang out until like 4 AM. XP Good times. Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!

DISCLAIMER: Do not own Vocaloids. Would like to own Vocaloids. Will prolly never own Vocaloids.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

* * *

><p>"P-Please be gentle... it's... it's my first time..."<p>

Gumi sighed as she cracked open her can of soda. Not for the first time since she had fired this hentai movie up, she wondered why she had kept it to begin with. Then again, she reasoned, with a little over fifty gigs of porn on her external hard drive, it was pretty hard to wade through the mind-boggling number of files on it for quality checking. Having been in the mood for delicious yuri action this morning, she'd decided on this one, though she was less than impressed thus far. Taking into account the characters, the plot, the sex, and all that jazz, everything amounted to approximately a "meh" rating, maybe a little lower. Still, Gumi thought as she took a sip of her soda, this was fine too. She'd woken up at about nine this morning; a usual time for her on the weekends. Afterwards, she'd had breakfast, washed up, and then just chilled by amusing herself with various selections in her gigantic collection. Although, strangely enough, Gumi had a strange feeling that she was forgetting about something...

"Hyaa? ! M-Mai-chan! W-Wait! Not there! Ah! Why won't you listen to me...?"

The greenette let out a quiet "Oh" of mild interest. "Hm... Not bad," she leered. Her lecherous grin widened as the moans from her speakers grew louder.

Over the sounds of a girl going to town on another girl, Gumi heard knocking from behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she called out, "Come in!"

The door opened enough to allow Gakupo to poke his head in, greeting Gumi's cheerful grin with a warm smile. He glanced over at the screen, a flicker of resigned disapproval briefly flitting through his eyes before he sighed and returned his attention to her.

"Gumi, can you turn that down a little? I'm trying to study for my midterms."

She shot him a million-watt grin as she saluted. "No problem, onii-chan! I'll put my headphones on then, 'kay?"

He smiled. "Thanks, Gumi."

The door shut gently as Gakupo went back to his studies. Gumi turned back to her computer, switching off her speakers and plugging in her headphones. This was good in its own way too, so Gumi had no complaints whatsoever about being asked to put on her headphones. She took another sip of her soda as she returned her attention to the picture on her monitor. A soft sigh escaped her as the sound intensified. Why did these girls always have to sound like they were being raped when they were clearly enjoying it? She didn't get it. Then again, it wasn't like she had any experience anyway, so she was willing to concede that maybe it was just because she didn't understand. Or maybe more people in the audience liked it better this way. Either way, Gumi was content to enjoy the show.

But for some reason, as Gumi took a sip of her soda, she had the strangest feeling that she had forgotten something...

She paused as she heard her cell phone ringing from inside of her pocket. Finishing her gulp, Gumi set down the can and extracted the phone. Huh. Rin was calling her. Curious, Gumi flipped open her phone and answered.

"Heya, Rin-chan."

"Hi, Gumi-chan. Hey, are you almost here? The rest of us are waiting."

"...Huh?"

"We're already outside the library, just waiting on you."

"...Huh?"

There was a pause. Then... "...You forgot, didn't you?"

Gumi stared uncomprehendingly ahead of herself. "Forgot what?"

"Gumi-chan, we were supposed to meet up in front of the library today! At eleven? Any of this ringing a bell?"

"...Huh?"

"For midterms? Y'know, studying? Making sure you don't fail?"

"Mid... terms...?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

_**"...OH MY GOD!"**_

Rin sighed. "We'll be inside, Gumi-chan." The line disconnected.

* * *

><p>It didn't help that Gakupo was already distracted by sheer boredom, but the crashing and banging noises that exploded from his sister's room weren't helping his concentration much either. He glared at the wall as if he could see through it (which he most certainly couldn't, and was glad for... he wasn't sure if he should ever bring up to Gumi that she should probably keep it down when she was... um... having Gumi time...), already able to accurately imagine his sister flailing all over the place. It was pretty easy to imagine, given that the audio was quite suggestive of this. He could hear her dashing all over the place in her room, along with things crashing all over the place. He sighed at each of the screams that came from her room, among them such gems as<p>

"OH MY GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT ABOUT MY MIDTERMS!"

"GAH, RIN-CHAN IS GONNA KILL ME!"

"WHERE'S MY WALLET? OH MY GOD, I LOST MY- Oh wait, there it is."

"SOCKS! CRAP! I HAVE NO SOCKS! Wait, never mind, I do."

"CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP!"

The last one in particular made several cameos. Four, to be exact. The crashing finally came mostly to a standstill, and her loud, panicked footsteps took over instead. Gakupo looked over at his door as hers flung open and her footsteps rapidly drew near to his room, his expression still set into a highly unimpressed facefault. Sure enough, his door banged open, revealing a very panicked Gumi as she zoomed up to him.

"Hi onii-chan well I gotta run cuz I was supposed to be studying for midterms with my friends but I totally forgot about it pretty dumb of me huh hahaha well I never did say I was the smartest person out there but I prolly shoulda remembered this and besides Rin-chan can be kinda drill sergeant-y she's actually pretty scary when she gets into things you wouldn't guess from looking at her well I guess you can't judge a book by its cover right hahaha so yeah I thought I'd let you know onii-chan and I totally shoulda let you know about this before you've always been better at remembering things than me-" Brief pause for a quick breath. "So anyways I gotta run otherwise Rin-chan is gonna skin me alive well I don't think she'll actually do that she doesn't seem like the yandere type but oh my God why am I standing here still talking it is _a __minute __later __than __it __was __a __minute __ago __holy __SHIT __I__'__M __GONNA __HAVE __TO __RUN __LIKE __HELL __**I **__**GOTTA **__**GO **__**I **__**LOVE **__**YOU **__**ONII-CHAN-**_" Brief pause to give Gakupo a peck on the cheek. _**"_G_OTTA **__**RUN **__**I**__**'**__**LL **__**BE **__**HOME **__**FOR **__**DINNER **__**BYE-BYE **__**HOLY **__**SHIT **__**I**__**'**__**M **__**LAAAAATE!**__**!**__**!**__**!**__**!**__**"**_

From downstairs, he heard the front door open and then slam shut, with a muffled scream of "OH MAN, OH MAN, OH MAN, I REALLY GOTTA RUN! GUMI TURBO BOOST POWER _**GO!**_"

Still inside the house, Gakupo was still staring at where Gumi had been scant seconds ago, looking rather exhausted from trying to keep up with how rapidly she'd been firing out words. A soft noise akin to a scoff escaped him as he shook his head, running a hand briefly through his hair.

"Geez... that sister of mine..."

A faintly affectionate smile tugged on a corner of his mouth as he returned to his studies. With quiet humor, he murmured, "Have a safe trip."

* * *

><p>Luka had spent the past ten minutes caught in that annoying limbo that is somewhere between being asleep and being awake and trying very hard to get herself back to sleep but completely unable to. Just as she'd been starting to get some ground by keeping her eyes stubbornly closed and rolling to a part of her bed where the sunlight wouldn't be able to hit her (yet), a clatter from downstairs triumphantly announced the official ending of any shuteye she'd been planning to get. Groaning groggily, she sat up, scowling sleepily at nothing in particular. She snarled a series of sour nothings under her breath as she practically rolled off the bed and trudged downstairs. No point trying to sleep again now; she knew when she was defeated.<p>

The clatter had not stopped, and at one point had actually just turned into an explosive ruckus, along with a voice she could now hear saying, "Whoops. Oh well." She would have narrowed her eyes if they weren't already sleepy slits, because by now, even in her sleepy state, Luka knew _exactly_ who was in the kitchen.

"Well, a pleasant morning to you, hime-sama!"

Luka groused a decidedly unpleasant phrase at Lily that would probably have made sense if she'd actually emitted something that sounded more coherent than a growl. She dragged herself to her usual spot at the table, where utensils and an empty cup had already been set out with another set across from her (which she decided to ignore for the moment). After seating herself, her motor skills decided they'd functioned long enough for the morning and promptly allowed her to faceplant onto the table. A short chuckle followed this display.

"Wow, it's been a long time since I've last seen sleepyhead mode Luka."

As the annoying blonde spoke, her voice had drawn closer. Given her poor mood, this would ordinarily have resulted in a projectile being thrown in her general direction, preferably at her face, but she was at least functional enough to smell coffee. She thrust the empty mug in Lily's direction, snapping sourly, "Shut up and pour."

"At once, your majesty," Lily replied cheekily.

Luka allowed this to slide as she heard the coffee being poured. Once the sound came to a stop, Luka dragged the cup closer to her and took a sip. Ugh, black. But as nasty as it tasted, it served its purpose. She took another sip to give her system an extra jolt before she set the cup to the side, now looking over at Lily in the kitchen, apparently busying herself at the stove.

"It's been a while since you've done this," she remarked, her voice more awake and not carrying (much of) her earlier grouchiness.

She could hear the grin in Lily's voice as she replied airily, "A whim. Only this, and nothing more."

Luka rolled her eyes, even if her friend couldn't see it. There was no need for her to ask who had let her in; Megurine Yukari had long been on friendly terms with Masuda Lily, and it rather distressed Luka to know that her mother genuinely liked both of the more annoying people in her life. But there was nothing to be done about that, she supposed. Luka imagined that Yukari had been all too happy to let her in.

"Your mom was all too happy to let me in," Lily informed her, still not turning around.

"I'll bet she missed you," Luka scoffed. "It's been a while since you've pulled a stunt like this, after all."

"This is true. And I hardly think going over to a friend's house counts as a stunt, hime-sama." Despite the words apparently trying to justify her actions, her tone was wholly unapologetic.

"_Normal_ people announce themselves before dropping by."

"Tch," the cook scoffed dismissively. "Normal people may do such things, but Masuda Lily comes and goes as she pleases!" She actually had the gall to sound proud of herself.

This was true, actually. Lily had a habit of dropping by unannounced at her house for various reasons, a habit she'd had since junior high school. There really wasn't any way to deter her aside from surrounding the grounds with barbed wire (and even that was not a guarantee), so pretty much there was no choice but to let her do as she pleased. After all, Lily had always been the kind of person who lived life at her own pace. Lily turned from the stove and soon dropped off a plate in front of Luka before circling around to her spot with her own plate. Pancakes, as usual. Neither of them was entirely sure why, but whenever Lily decided to make breakfast, she always made pancakes. Hell, sometimes even if she was cooking dinner or something, sometimes she made pancakes. There wasn't much point asking her either, as even Lily wasn't quite sure why.

The last time she'd asked, she'd just kind of glazed over, scratching her head and going, "Uhhh... That's a good question. I dunno."

"You didn't have to do this, you know," Luka said, her tone not ungrateful.

"I never do anything cuz I _have_ to," Lily replied without even the slightest dusting of concern. She began pouring a generous amount of syrup onto her pancakes as she continued, "Only what I feel like."

A smile tugged at a corner of Luka's mouth as she shook her head. For a time, the two friends were quiet as they ate their breakfasts, interrupted briefly by Luka getting up to grab some cream and sugar for her coffee; unlike Lily, she'd never been very good with bitter things. The silence was companionable, for once not filled with Lily slyly interrogating her or scribbling things in her damnable notebook or any of that. Just as she had finished that thought, there was a quiet snickering noise from across the table.

"This is kinda nostalgic in a way, wouldn't you say?" Lily asked with a grin.

Luka smiled genuinely, replying with a quiet, "Un."

Silence as they ate was nothing new to them. After all, that was how a certain blonde girl had found a shy, quiet pinkette years ago.

* * *

><p><strong>Several years ago...<strong>

"Oi."

Luka looked up, surprised at actually being addressed. She followed the source of the voice to see a blonde girl standing beside her, arms folded over her chest. Luka's confused ice-blue stare was met with a blank stare from ocean-blue orbs. Blinks from both parties. Then, the blonde spoke first.

"Are you eating alone?"

The pinkette blinked at this odd line of questioning, but nodded cautiously.

"...You shouldn't do that. Y'know food doesn't taste as good if you eat alone, right?"

Luka wasn't sure how to respond to this. Certainly she knew, but how could she help it? She looked down without answering, chewing her lower lip.

"Don't you have any friends or anything?"

Luka shook her head, still not looking up.

The blonde sighed in apparent exasperation. "Y'know what, wait here."

Before Luka could even think to say anything, she had zipped off. Quietly, she went back to nibbling on her sandwich. It wasn't like she'd chosen to eat alone... She looked around sadly at the other tables in the cafeteria, all of them packed with other boys and girls her age, all of them talking or laughing or just screwing around with their friends. She'd never made any friends in elementary school, often considered "weird" because of her unusual hair color... She supposed that if she wanted to fit in, she could have dyed it, but she liked her hair... It was the same color as her mother's... She took another bite of her sandwich, reflecting that she usually did eat alone. At school, the other children didn't like her, so she would eat by herself, and though it was only her second day of junior high, it didn't look like it would be any different here either. At home, she would eat alone too because her parents were often too busy to spend time with her. On the rare occasions that they could, she always felt so happy, but she still wasn't sure if the food actually tasted any better. All she knew was that it would feel good to not be so lonely. Luka was just about to take another bite of her sandwich when a loud clattering exploded from in front of her. In alarm, she looked up to see the blonde girl from before, grinning from ear to ear as she plopped down into the seat.

"Thanks for waiting!" she chirped.

Luka blinked, unsure when she had agreed to wait for her to begin with. She was about to ask but was cut off as the blonde continued cheerily, "Y'know, seeing you eating all by yourself is just too sad. So until you make some friends of your own, I'll be eating with you!" No sooner had the words come out of her mouth when she paused and gazed up at the ceiling, a finger resting on her chin thoughtfully. "Mm, actually, that might be too much work." Shifting once more towards full-blown cheer, she chirped, "To make things easier, we'll just be friends starting now! Un, that sounds a lot better!" She nodded proudly to herself, arms folded over her chest as she made small noises of agreement in time with each nod. "I like this idea already! Any objections?"

"Um-"

"Great! Glad to hear it!" she cheered enthusiastically. "Oh yeah, I haven't introduced myself, have I?" Sticking her hand out into Luka's face, she chirped, "I'm Masuda Lily!"

Blinking, Luka hesitantly accepted the extended hand, for a reason she was not sure she understood. Nevertheless, she replied, "M-Megurine Luka..."

"Nice to meet you, M-Megurine Luka!" Lily exclaimed, shaking her hand with such vigor that the poor pinkette felt as if her arm would be dislocated. "I think we're gonna get along just fine, don't you?"

"I... I suppose, Masuda-sa- OW!"

While she reeled from the sudden forehead flick, the blonde wagged her finger, tsking with disapproval. "You've much to learn, young one!" she proclaimed, leading Luka to wonder if she were perhaps a senpai. The wagging finger became one pointed straight between her eyes as she declared, "Friends don't call each other so formally! So, let's try this again, Lu-ka!"

"L... Lily?"

"Just 'Lily' is fine, no need to call me 'L-Lily'! Sounds like a weird remix, y'know?" Without waiting for a reply, she turned to her meal.

Luka sweatdropped, having a hard time keeping up with this wild girl. But... well, she wasn't so bad. And it was nice to have a companion, even if it was only for today. She smiled, feeling the pangs of loneliness fading away ever so slightly. Just as she was about to bite into her sandwich again, she saw that her companion had not touched the steaming bowl she had brought on her tray. Looking up, she saw that she was glaring hard at the chopsticks in her hand, freshly extracted from the paper sleeve. The blonde seemed to be willing it to break or... something... That, or she was having a very intense staring competition with it. Smiling, Luka reached across the table and held out her hand, catching the girl's attention. Ocean-blue eyes blinked uncomprehendingly.

"Here, let me," Luka offered quietly.

The girl looked at her with a dubious scowl. "It's really hard, y'know!" she warned. Even so, she handed over her chopsticks.

Luka gripped the bottom ends, gingerly beginning to split them apart. Lily stared in fascination and worry as the chopsticks wavered, resisting the pinkette's attempt to split them apart. Then, to her amazement, they split perfectly down the middle. As she stared in dumbfounded wonder, Luka passed them back into her hands with a small smile.

"Whoa..."

Luka blinked. "Y-Yes?"

"That... That was amazing!" Lily crowed. "Wow, I could never do that! Ne, ne, Luka, you gotta show me how you do that sometime! You'll teach me, yeah?"

"Er, I-"

"Great! You're the best, Luka!"

Luka stared at the girl as she dug into her ramen, her brain still trying to keep up with her. She covered her mouth as a quiet giggle fell from her mouth. Lily noticed. Blinking, she noisily slurped up a few noodles and swallowed before asking, "What?"

"It's nothing," the pinkette said, still giggling. "It's nothing, Lily."

Lily frowned at her, confused. Apparently thinking there was not much point to thinking about it, she shrugged and went back to her meal. The rest of their time together was spent in companionable silence, Luka feeling much happier at school than she'd ever felt before.

* * *

><p><strong>Present...<strong>

Lily sighed dramatically. "Haa... Whatever happened to that sweet, cute Luka from before anyway?" she lamented. "She was always so quiet and obedient!"

"She learned how to sift through all the garbage that comes out of your mouth," Luka retorted as she put their empty plates away.

"You're a real douche waffle sometimes, y'know that?" Lily groused, pouting at her back.

Luka smirked, rinsing the plates before coming back to the table. She sincerely doubted that Lily was here to study for her midterms, since Lily still enjoyed keeping everyone's expectations low (though she would still pull decent scores on her midterms nevertheless, since that was always how she was). There was no real point to asking; Lily often gave information better when it was volunteered rather than asked for.

"Came to hang out cuz I'm bored," Lily said, proving Luka's thought correct once more. "Neru-chii and Miki-chii are studying with Miku-chan and the others, so you've been volunteered, hime-sama!"

"How lucky for me," Luka remarked dryly.

"Mm-hmm." Lily critically eyed Luka's hair as she hummed out her reply. She pursed her lips as she declared, "Your hair's a wreck."

Luka rolled her eyes. She'd taken a shower immediately after coming home from the coffee shop last night, and had apparently not dried it quite to satisfaction, seeing how her hair had decided to go completely feral on her. Without waiting for any kind of retort, Luka was ushered to sit down at the table as Lily said nothing more than a short, "Hold up" and bounded off. Knowing what was coming next, Luka remained seated, taking a sip every so often of her half-full mug of coffee. She heard Lily's footsteps descending the stairs not too much later, and soon felt her usual brush going through the tangled creature that was her hair.

"This isn't necessary, I hope you know."

Despite the wording, Luka's tone was far from ungrateful, and they both knew it. Lily's grin was evident in her voice as she simply replied, "What can I say? I'm good at taking care of people~"

Luka scoffed quietly, but let it go. Again the two friends lapsed into comfortable silence, interrupted only by the sound of the brush going through Luka's hair.

* * *

><p>As Gumi let out a sigh from her position slumped over the table, everyone could swear they saw the greenette's ghost leaving her body via her mouth. She let out a long suffering groan.<p>

"Geez, Rin-chan... I had no idea you were such a slave driver..."

The blonde scowled unsympathetically at her. "I had no idea you were so lazy."

"I'm not lazy! It's just that I have a finite supply of energy that I must budget carefully!"

"Oh?" Unimpressed.

Gumi pouted. "What's with that look?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Dismissive. Rin picked up a few fries and tossed them carelessly into her mouth.

The greenette's cheeks puffed out as her pout deepened. "Uuu..."

Defeated, she snatched up her soda and sipped through the straw. After several hours of studying suffering beneath the incessant cracking of Rin's paper fan (actually, it was really only Gumi that suffered such treatment), their group had decided on grabbing something to eat, settling on a fast food restaurant a short walk from the library. After offering a sympathetic smile to Gumi, Miki turned to Miku with a smile.

"Ne, Miku-chan! You said you were gonna go someplace with Megurine-senpai yesterday, right? How'd that go?"

Apparently surprised at being addressed, Miku turned a surprised look onto the redhead. "Yesterday? Um..." A flicker passed briefly over her eyes before Miku pulled herself into a large grin. "It went fine! I took Luka-senpai to a coffee shop I'd wanted to try! Nothing special happened; we just ate cake, drank coffee, talked, and then left. That's all!"

Miki's smile widened. "That's good! Sounds like you enjoyed it, Miku-chan!"

"Un, I did!"

Miku failed to take notice that two pairs of blue eyes were eyeing her in a measuring way. The Kagamine twins exchanged questioning glances with each other, but broke the stare quickly as the tealette continued.

"Well... Then we went home together and..."

It took a pretty dull person to miss how her mood had dropped. All eyes, even Neru's, were on her now as she looked down quietly at her food. "We were outside Luka-senpai's house and... and she..."

Rin's heart clenched. Had Megurine-senpai rejected her once and for all? She was afraid this would happen, especially with how Miku had been acting with her, but... But Miku didn't need to hear that now. She opened her mouth to say something sympathetic to her best friend, not quite sure what she would say but sure that she would just wing it and maybe hug her for-

"She gave me blue balls..." Miku said dejectedly.

For a long moment, no one at the table said a word. The silence was only broken when Gumi murmured sympathetically, "Oh, Miku-chan... I'm sorry..." She gathered her up in her arms as Miku remained glum and somber, mumbling about what a tease Luka was and the like.

Meanwhile, the reactions around the rest of the table were far different. Neru went back to her cell phone, her expression set into an unimpressed facefault as she wondered again just how she had ever befriended a complete tool like Hatsune Miku. The Kagamine twins simultaneously facepalmed, hiding expressions that visibly wondered why they bothered worrying about someone like Miku to begin with. Miki blinked in confusion, her ahoge forming a question mark atop her head. This... admittedly didn't make sense to her...

Then again, the scenario Miki was imagining contained a cruel Ice Princess passing blue rubber balls one after another to a despairing Miku, who wailed up to the sky, "NOOOOOOOOOO! ! ! ! !"

Needless to say, no matter how many times she sliced it, this made no sense to her.

Sighing, Rin shook her head, but aimed a look at Miku. Her whining aside, she remembered that flicker she'd seen in Miku's eyes earlier; a surefire sign that something else had gone on, and she just wasn't saying anything. She stole a glance at her brother, who met her stare and nodded at the question in her eyes. She nodded back. Not just yet... but definitely later, she would get her answers.

* * *

><p>"I can see why you like this one, Luka. The story's pretty good, and so's the action."<p>

"Mm."

While Lily was busying herself with playing one of Luka's RPGs, the pinkette was busy studying for her midterms. It wasn't that she necessarily _needed_ to, seeing how she always managed to land amazing scores, but she did nevertheless. Why settle for less, after all? Of course, the opposite philosophy was present right in this very room with her.

"HOLY-!" Lily gaped at the screen, her entire party apparently having been slaughtered by the very loud explosion that Luka had heard at the same time as Lily's cry. "Wow... Oh man... I... Wow, my ass hurts just _watching_ that... Someone call the cops, cuz my party just got raped..."

"Fire resist is good for that boss," Luka said idly, not looking up from her notes. She glanced at a highlighted part and read as she continued, "Especially if you have a low DPS group. She has over four million hit points, after all. At the least, your tank needs it."

"...How much do you play this game again?"

"I've beaten it several times on the hardest difficulty," Luka replied. She flipped a page of her textbook. "It has a very good story; really makes you wonder what path you should take a lot too."

"...Lemme guess, you got all the achievements for this one."

"They're called 'trophies' on the PS3, I'll have you know."

"Nerd."

"Noob."

"I'm not even gonna dignify that with a response."

Luka smirked a bit. Lily had never been as good at games as she was, and oftentimes, it was worth throwing Lily into the fire on a game just to listen to her rant and rave each time she got destroyed. That, or the blonde would just dive into something herself and get shredded. She listened to her friend grumble to herself as she tweaked the tactics and equipment of her party. Not that she would ever admit to it out loud, but she was glad Lily had come by. She generally did get lonely on weekends if she was the only one around in the house, and really, just the presence of another person was enough for her to be okay. She would have said it needed to be someone she was completely comfortable with, but then, she'd never been entirely at ease with Miku and had still accepted her company... Though that was mostly because that wild girl would just invite herself over.

_Reminds __me __of __someone __else __I __know,_ Luka thought with a roll of her eyes. She just knew that one day, she was going to have Lily and Miku here at the same time and she would be throwing them out of the house riddled with bruises.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Lily roared with outrage. Luka didn't need to look up to know that Lily's party had once more been roasted to a fine, blackened crisp. "Ugh, screw this! I don't like dragons anyway!" she snarled.

Luka smirked again at her friend's expense and continued on with her studies. She idly wondered how the others were doing; not just her friends, but also the younger members of their group. Luka's smirk widened at the memory of Miku's scandalized expression the night before when she had "given her blue balls." That had most certainly been more satisfying than punching her face into the back of her head. She chided herself for losing concentration and took a quick sip of her tea before focusing again on her notes.

"So," Lily said suddenly. "Word on the street is that you and Miku-chan went to a coffee shop yesterday~"

The overly innocent quality to Lily's voice announced that study time was over for now. By now, Luka had come to suspect that Akita Neru was the one who slipped Lily information on Miku's activities, not that there was any way to get a response out of that indifferent girl. Well, for the moment, she had other things to deal with, like a certain nosy blonde hunting for a scoop. She replied with a simple, noncommittal, "Mm."

She thought back to the events of what had happened at the coffee shop. It was still embarrassing for her to recall how she had come so close to breaking down in front of her... But she couldn't help it. Nothing had made any _sense._ And after what Miku had told her, she wasn't entirely sure what to make of her anymore either...

Lily noticed the pensive silence her friend had gone into. Looking over her shoulder, she asked, "Did something happen?"

Sometimes, Luka wished Lily couldn't read her so well. It was plainly obvious to Lily that something had occurred, and being the busybody that she was, she wouldn't have rested until Luka had told her _something._ She wondered if Lily had ever considered a career in the military as an interrogator. Forget torture, she would simply pester people for information until they finally told her something, and she'd be perceptive enough to tell when they were just trying to get rid of her or not. She rolled her eyes at the thought. And besides... In all honesty, she didn't really know what had happened. To this end, she quietly said so.

"I'm not really sure."

"What do you mean?" Her voice was pure concern now. "Did she do something?"

"No, not really. I..." Luka hesitated. She shook her head. "I'm not really sure. We talked though."

"Huh. Sounds normal enough." Lily obviously didn't buy it, but the fact that she turned back to her game silently told Luka that she was willing to accept that answer for now. "So what did Hurricane-chan have to say?"

Luka blinked. "Er... 'Hurricane-chan?"

"Yeah. Cute, isn't it? I shortened her new nickname. She's called 'Hurricane Miku' at school now. Cuz she's so destructive when she sprints through the halls. Y'know that one hard ass of a teacher? Suzuki-sensei?"

"What about her?"

"She got run over by Hurricane-chan when she tried to yell at her to stop running through the halls."

So that was what had happened to her... Luka facepalmed. That stupid girl... It was amazing Luka hadn't sustained any injuries from being tackled by her at lunchtimes... Well, granted, she usually managed to slow herself down before doing that to Luka, but still.

"Anyways, leaving that to the side. What'd she say?"

Luka shrugged, forgetting that Lily couldn't see the gesture. "She just told me that she was serious about me."

"Hm." Lily's voice sounded vaguely impressed. "That's a first outta your fan club."

"Mm."

Luka still found it strange that she felt like she was telling the truth. She could very well be lying to try to catch her guard down. But there was something about it that had felt sincere to her. She wasn't about to dismiss the possibility that she'd just still been overly emotional and not thinking straight, and who knew, maybe there'd been something in the cake or the coffee that had affected her reasoning or judgment capabilities, but she suspected she was just grabbing at excuses. Funny, since others of course had told her that they were serious, that they really wanted her, etc., etc. She'd heard the whole song and dance a million times over by now, and had almost believed it a bit when she was younger and more foolish.

As if she could read her thoughts, Lily asked, "You believe her, right?"

With a tone that served as the verbal equivalent of a shrug, Luka replied, "I suppose I do. Not sure why."

"Do you like her?"

For once, this question was not asked with the sly note of suggestion that Lily would usually subject her to. Instead, it was asked in a genuinely curious manner. Luka thought about this briefly. She wasn't sure why, but after they'd had that conversation at the coffee shop, she'd become much calmer concerning the teal-haired pest. It really didn't make any sense. Then again, a lot of things had stopped making sense ever since the force of nature called Hatsune Miku had barged into her life like the wrecking ball she was. Well... no, maybe she was being a bit harsh. Even if that girl was noisy and disruptive, she wasn't necessarily bad company; she could at least tell that much. Still...

"As a person, she's not bad," Luka replied honestly. "It's like having another Gumi around. But I know you mean in _that_ way. And in that way, no, I don't."

"I'll bet Hurricane-chan is disappointed," Lily quipped. She figured it was for the better though. Though she'd supported Miku at first, she'd increasingly had misgivings about just _how_ she was pursuing Luka. It was at least nice that Luka thought enough of her to think of her on a friendship level at least. Although, really, Lily still personally thought Miku wouldn't be so bad. Maybe later down the line. "I'm not surprised though. I've lately started thinking you're asexual."

"Don't be ridiculous," the pinkette scoffed. "I just haven't found anyone that strikes my fancy yet, that's all. And you're one to talk."

Lily had no retort for this. As much as Luka had remained single this whole time, so had Lily, for reasons known only to the blonde herself. To this, she airily conceded, "Fair enough. Oh, what the crap?" She slashed a hand toward the TV screen, her eyes fixated on the seven relationship points she had just lost with a female member of her party. "What the hell's wrong with this bitch? ! I try to say something nice to her and I _lose_ points? ! The hell, man? !"

Sensing the topic was over, Luka went back to her notes, saying with quiet humor, "You have to understand her background. She thinks people who are being overly nice to her are just being fake."

"Oh, fuck that!" Lily groused. "Tch, and this is why women are so..."

Luka shook her head as she quipped dryly, "I think you might want to check your anatomy sometime, because from what I can tell, you're a woman too."

"Bah, screw this! I'm playing something else!" In a huff, Lily saved the game and then took out the disc.

Luka ignored the sounds of the blonde muttering and mocking the character's words as she rummaged through Luka's video game library. She took a sip of her tea, still nice and cold. Just as she was about to take another sip, she heard Lily fire up another game, freezing immediately once she heard the ominous noises and music of the menu. Luka paled.

"L-Lily...?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Wh-What game are you playing...?"

Lily continued to face away from Luka, but she could imagine the gigantic evil grin on her friend's face as she replied, "_Dead __Space __2._"

Luka became white as a sheet, her left eye starting to tick. The pencil in her hand trembled and she swallowed hard. Oh God, that game... It had been a game that Lily had bought for her _birthday_ of all things. When Luka had finally played it once, she'd needed to turn it off after barely clearing the opening scenes... She trembled, memories of the horrific screams coming back to her and...

"Chill, hime-sama. I'm just gonna play the multiplayer."

"O-Oh... Oh, well, that's... fine." Luka sighed with relief. The multiplayer shouldn't be so bad. It was probably like another zombie game... or maybe deathmatch. She liked deathmatch. "Well, um... have fun."

"Mm-hmm."

* * *

><p>Not even ten minutes into her first match, Lily had grown used to not only the screams of dying human players, gunfire, and the shrieks of attackingdying necro... er, she'd forgotten what they were called. Necromorphs? Whatever, she preferred killer alien mutant zombies. At any rate, in addition to the sounds from the game, she'd also grown used to the terrified screams of the pinkette hiding behind the couch, doubtless covering her ears.

"The screams... The screams...!" she would hear being muttered fearfully behind the couch during lulls in the fighting and screaming.

Still very much in her game, Lily grinned evilly, shadows covering her whole face but her eyes.

_I'm so bad..._

Barely audible over the sounds of a renewed battle and a human player trying to fight off a smaller necromorph leaping onto his face was the ominous tolling of a distant church bell...

* * *

><p>Seeing how the sun was beginning to set, Miku and the others decided it was as good a time as any to call it a day. Neru, Gumi, and Miki went their separate ways, while Miku and the Kagamine twins walked together, as they would need to walk together part of the way anyway. They made small talk as they went, Rin positioned between her brother on her right and her best friend on her left.<p>

"I gotta say though, I'm glad Gumi-chan was able to make it!" Miku giggled.

The twins smiled with her, Len commenting, "It was pretty amazing how fast she came in too."

"I'm more amazed that she didn't hurt anybody on her way over..." Rin added.

They all shared a laugh as they continued walking. Their path took them near the river that ran through the city, the water shimmering in the brilliant sunset. Each of them took a look, admiring the view as their laughter faded into a comfortable silence. But unseen to Miku, who was smiling broadly at the sight, the twins' humor slowly faded as well. Rin and Len glanced at each other before nodding once. Now was as good a time as any. Rin chose to break the silence.

"Ne, Miku-chan?"

"Hm?"

"What you said happened at the coffee shop yesterday with Megurine-senpai... There's more to it, isn't there?"

The tealette halted in her steps, forcing the twins to stop as well. The contented look on her face had faded into a blank expression, though that flicker had passed through her eyes again. No sooner had it materialized when Miku turned to them fully with a broad grin on her face. "What're you talking about, Rin-chan?" she chirped. "It was just like I said, and-"

"Miku-chan."

The firm, no-nonsense tone that the older twin used was enough on its own to stop Miku's tongue. She fell silent, looking astonished. The steel in Rin's tone did not fade in the slightest as she continued, "Len and I have been friends with you since we all met in freaking kindergarten, okay? Don't lie to us. You might fool the others, but you won't fool us."

Miku's astonished expression faded as she listened to her friend. Rubbing the back of her neck, she turned her gaze aside and mumbled, "You're... You're right..." Raising her eyes to meet her friend's, she said sincerely, "I'm sorry."

Rin softened and reached out to squeeze her hand to silently convey her forgiveness. The two friends exchanged smiles before Miku's vanished into a soft sigh. "The um... The part I left out was that I almost made her cry."

There was no way for the Kagamine twins to stop the looks of surprise that crossed their faces. Frankly, it hadn't even occurred to them that Megurine Luka was even capable of showing emotion along those lines. Any question they might have had about that was silenced as Miku continued.

"I um... Yeah... She went off on me and stuff... I got to feed her cake to calm her down though!" her voice had recovered some of its usual pep when she said that. "And I mean, aside from the blue balls part, I think it turned out okay! I mean, it wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for, but I think that overall it was alright!"

The twins did not share her positive sentiment. Rin flicked her gaze away briefly before returning to her friend's teal eyes. She'd been thinking this for a while but she felt that now was as good a time as any to bring it up.

"Ne, Miku-chan. I..." She paused, suddenly unsure if she wanted to say this, but steeled herself. She needed to bring this up. "Look, I'm not saying this just to be an asshole or anything. You're like a sister to me, Miku-chan, so you know I'd never say anything just to hurt you. But I... I don't approve of this whole thing with Megurine-senpai."

Miku watched her silently, waiting for her to continue. Rin took a moment to take a calming breath. "It's not just that she beats you up or anything. It's you. I don't approve of how you're going about things with Megurine-senpai. Miku-chan, don't you think you're being kinda..." She lost steam and lowered her gaze. Again, she felt terrible for even thinking of it. There was no way, right? The Hatsune Miku she had known since she was a child would never be anything at all like this, right? There was no way the cheerful and energetic Hatsune Miku, her best friend, could possibly be...

"Manipulative?"

The twins were surprised to hear the word come out of Miku's mouth. Their gazes snapped to her, and they both were shocked at the look of remorse on Miku's face. The tealette looked away and sighed softly. "Yeah... I guess that's pretty much how I've been..." She giggled, the sound a hollow, humorless noise before continuing, "Pretty bad way to get a girlfriend, huh?"

Her empty laugh faded as she looked down, her expression the blank mask she wore whenever she was upset. Rin swallowed hard. "Well... Miku-chan, it's just that it doesn't add up to me. You've never been the manipulative type, nor are you ever scary and pushy like you are with her. I guess I could see it if all you wanted was sex, but that's not you. You want more out of her than just that, don't you?"

Miku laughed again, a hollow sound that matched the empty smile on her lips. She rubbed the back of her head as she said, "Hehe... Y'know, Luka-senpai thought that all I wanted was sex too. I guess I really must've given off that impression? But yeah," she said after a soft sigh. "I do want more than that outta her. I really do want her."

Len had been quiet for the whole conversation, wanting to allow his sister and his friend to talk but he spoke up at this point. "Miku, you know you're not going to get her if you keep this up, right?"

"I know. I..." Miku rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably, turning her gaze aside once more. "I dunno. I've never liked anyone so much that I wanted to date them. I'm really new to this whole 'love' thing, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I had a plan to get her to fall for me, and I was trying to stick to it... I thought it was working too, but..." She trailed off, then shrugged helplessly.

The twins blinked. "Plan?" Rin asked. This was the first either of them had heard of this.

Miku nodded. "I actually have it with me. I always kept it around, just to make sure I stayed on track. Um..." She reached into her backpack and then took out a folded piece of paper. "Here it is."

She held out to the twins and Rin plucked it out of her fingers. The dimming sunlight was still more than sufficient for them to look through its contents and they read it. Their curious expressions quickly faded into blank masks, and then finally expressions that could be summed up with the question "Are you fucking serious...?"

The contents of the note were as follows...

1) Make Luka-senpai's acquaintance.

2) Get Luka-senpai used to me by hanging out with her a lot.

3) Keep up the pressure until Luka-senpai falls for me.

4) ? ? ? ? ?

5) Profit.

The twins were silent, their brains apparently broken by the sheer idiocy of this "plan".

Rin broke their silence. In a flat, unimpressed tone, she said, "Miku-chan."

"Yeah?"

"This... This is your grand master plan?"

"Well, it's not really grand, and I dunno about master, but it is definitely a plan." Miku replied honestly.

Rin stared at her.

Miku scratched her cheek as she stuck her tongue out cutely.

Without looking, Rin held out her right hand to her brother. Len obediently took out Rin's paper fan and placed it into his sister's hand.

_WHACK!_

"OW!"

"Hatsune Miku, you... you... you _imbecile!_" Rin screeched.

"That hurts, y'know..." Miku whined, rubbing the stinging bump on her head as anime river tears streamed down her face. It was unclear whether she was saying this in response to taking a high-velocity paper fan to the head or at being insulted.

Rolling right on over her, Rin screamed, "You _idiot!_ This...! You...! I mean, this...! What...! In what world would this...!" Frustration stopped her tongue, her brain broken all over again as she tried to figure out just what dimension she would have to go to for this to be considered an amazing plan. She looked everywhere but at the tealette, as if hoping that some divine revelation would come to her. When none came, she deflated with a sigh. Rin passed her fan back to Len, who dutifully put it away for later use. The blonde girl pinched the bridge of her nose, but then ultimately began to chuckle quietly.

_It's just like Miku-chan to come up with a plan that idiotic..._

Rin glanced over at Len, who met her gaze with the same humor in her own eyes. They both laughed, shrugging helplessly. Rin shook her head as she went back to looking at the tealette, still nursing the red lump on her head. That, honestly, was more like the Hatsune Miku she knew, and in a way, seeing that was a relief to her.

"You're impossible, Miku-chan..." she sighed, weary affection coloring her tone.

Miku giggled, rubbing the back of her head. "I know... It was really stupid, but I thought that if I had a plan, I'd improve my odds with her. She's not exactly the most approachable person."

"True," Rin conceded. But she still thought Miku could have done without the perverted and criminal tendencies that only Megurine Luka seemed to awaken... Growing serious again, she asked, "Ne, Miku-chan... Do you really love her?"

Miku paused. "Uhh..." She scratched her cheek thoughtfully. "Mm... I dunno about 'love'... I've never been in love before, so I dunno what it feels like..." She cradled her chin between her fingers, her brow furrowed with consternation. "Er... Well, I dunno if I _love_ her, but I know that I really, really, really like her. Like... if I had to choose between Luka-senpai and a truckload of leeks, I'd pick her, no questions asked."

The twins sweatdropped simultaneously. Rin facepalmed, but also knew that, coming from Miku, this was actually quite significant. That girl _really_ liked leeks... Though Rin didn't see why; personally, she thought oranges were way better...

"Oh, but if she was _driving_ the truckload of leeks, that'd be even better!" the tealette exclaimed. A happy million-watt smile grew on her face at the thought. "That'd be like the best of both worlds! I mean, I dunno if she can drive or anything, but even if she can't that's all cool! Just the image alone would be totally worth it and-"

"Miku-chan," Rin cut in before Miku could get herself too carried away. Her babbling was like a snowball going down a very steep mountainside at times... "If you really like Megurine-senpai, you're gonna have to change the way you approach her."

The tealette fell silent. Just the way she blinked let Rin know she had her attention, so she continued.

"Look, think about it, Miku-chan. Suppose this actually does work. You'll know deep down she doesn't actually love you, since all you did was just bully her into falling for you. Someone else could just as easily do that to her and take her from you, don't you think?"

Miku lowered her gaze. She'd been thinking about this herself, actually. Before yesterday, she'd thought she was making some progress and that Luka-senpai was getting used to having her around. She'd slipped up a lot because she just couldn't help herself with Luka, like when she'd kissed her, but she'd never thought of what she was doing as _bullying_. But the more she'd thought about it, the more she realized that she really was just being forceful and pushy. She'd acknowledged before that she was being aggressive, just not to this extent. She remembered how frustrated Luka had been with how she was constantly crowding her and disrupting her life, and she acknowledged that her perverted tendencies and lack of restraint around the pinkette could really only have given her the wrong idea.

Seeing that her friend was pondering this,Rin added, "Think of it like this, Miku-chan. What ifsomeone were to start doing what you've been doing to Megurine-senpai to either me or Len? What would you think?"

Quietly, Miku conceded, "Yeah... I'd think it was pretty creepy... After yesterday, I really started thinking about this, and I've realized that you're right. But then... But then what do I do?"

The sound of that plaintive voice was enough to break Rin's heart. Miku was usually just so cheerful, so impossible to keep down that it sounded wrong coming out of her, and the lost expression on her face didn't help either. Even so, it didn't surprise Rin entirely to see that. When Miku wanted something, she had a tendency toward having tunnel vision. She'd never once failed at anything that she'd set her sights on, but this time, it was obvious her plan wasn't having the desired results. In the face of this, it was only natural that Miku would feel lost.

Her tone softened as Rin told her with quiet reluctance, "I don't know, Miku-chan."

Len chose this moment to chip in his two yen. "Ne, Miku... You want her to like you for _you_, right? Why don't you start off by being yourself around her?"

Miku blinked, confused. "But... Isn't that what I've been doing...?"

The younger twin facefaulted. "I mean, be _normal _Miku. I'm sorry, Miku, but you're pretty creepy when it comes to Megurine-senpai."

She laughed bashfully, rubbing the back of her head. "Ahaha... yeah, I... I really have been... I can't help it though. I just see Luka-senpai and I just can't control myself..."

"You're gonna have to, Miku-chan," Rin said. "Otherwise, you might scare her off. Or just make her think you're yet another slavering fangirl that wants her just cuz she's gorgeous."

"You're... You're right..." Miku conceded.

She'd told Luka yesterday that she was serious about her, but it was possible she'd just think she was saying that. Miku was not willing to dismiss the possibility that she'd already heard that before from the previous "admirers" of hers. She had to admit to herself that all the "signs" she'd thought she'd seen that Luka was warming up to her could very well just be wishful thinking. After all, hope was good to have, but hope could also cloud judgment and perception (as she'd read from one of Len's light novels). Miku knew she tended to get tunnel vision when she was focused on something, and that coupled with her boundless enthusiasm and determination also meant that she tended to miss a lot of details. It was very well possible that Luka still thought of her as a dangerous person, maybe even more so now than when she'd first confessed to her.

Miku sighed inaudibly. Really, a rational person would probably have given up, she thought ruefully. After all, she'd dug herself a very nice grave with a steam shovel as far as her chances with Luka-senpai were concerned, and now she had no plan to work with.

_Steep odds are steep indeed..._

But she didn't want to give up... She liked Luka for real. She'd meant it when she confessed to her, and she'd meant it every time she'd told her that she liked her. And yesterday, when she had told Luka that she was serious about her and didn't want her just for the reasons her other admirers did, she'd meant every single word. If Luka would just give her a chance, she'd be able to show her she meant it...

Miku blinked. _Hey, __wait __a __second..._ Her hopeless expression faded into wide-eyed thought. What was she doing thinking so negatively at a time like this? Did she want Luka-senpai or not? Of course she did! She could do this! She could _definitely_ do this! She wasn't sure what basis she had for saying such a thing, but dammit, she could do this!

_I just need to change my approach!_

And really, she thought to herself, it was a naïve hope for her to have believed her original plan would have worked. Sure, the original plan was to practically badger her into dating her and then take her time having Luka fall in love with her for real but the more she thought about it, the more she figured there was no way that could actually work. So there was no need for a flawed plan. She'd do without it!

_But what will I do now?_

She pondered this. In all honesty, this was up in the air. In fact, she'd probably have to wing it. But this was hardly a deterrence to her. She would just have to approach this the way she had approached every other previous challenge in life: with energy, enthusiasm, and her cheerful million-watt smiles. She nodded to herself. Yes! That was exactly what she was going to do!

"Yosh!" she exclaimed suddenly.

Beside her, the twins did not react with any surprise. They had been watching the play of emotions on Miku's face, watching thousands of different expressions flicker over them until it had finally settled onto the peppy Miku that they knew and loved. The two exchanged glances, smiling. She was going to be fine.

Miku pumped her fist into the air. "I can do this!" she cheered. "I can _definitely_ do this! I just need to put my best foot forward!"

Just as she'd said that, her foot caught on a crack in the sidewalk that she had not noticed, and with a loud scream of alarm, Miku slammed flat on her face onto the concrete. Alarmed, the Kagamine twins rushed to her side.

"Miku-chan!"

"Miku! Are you alright?"

Groaning in pain, Miku sat up, clutching her nose. "Ugh... I _really_ hope that wasn't some kind of evil omen... Ow... Oh man, that hurt..."

* * *

><p>End Chapter 10<p>

* * *

><p>In all honesty, I'm having trouble believing that I'm on chapter 10... I sometimes wonder if I really will end up making this some kind of 40 chapter monstrosity, and then when I think about that, I wake up in a cold sweat and realize it was just a dream, but it's actually Inception so they heard I like dreams so they put a dream in my dream in my dream, so I can dream while I dream while I-<p>

Y'know what, I'm gonna stop right there. *coughs*

So... Chapter 10 is up, and I'm still having trouble believing that I'm quite a (long x_x;) ways from the end. The development that I have planned is actually much lengthier than I had originally projected... Then again, this started off as a one-shot idea, then I felt that leaving it a one-shot was too lacking for what I could really do with it. And then I thought I'd finish it in 8 chapters, maybe 11 or 12 tops.

Feel free to facepalm, I've done it to myself many times over by now. -_-

To address a few critiques, first of all, yes, I'm aware that the relationship between Miku and Luka is highly unbalanced. The timing on it was kinda funny to me though, just because I'd already been planning for Miku to try to turn a new leaf in this chapter. XD; But yeah, honestly, I was not intending for Luka to seem to be falling for her already; I was gonna have that wait for later. XD Admittedly, I went overboard on a few parts so I think I really gave off the wrong idea. This is called shooting yourself in the foot, people. You don't wanna do that. It's painful.

It's also not exactly romantic at this point. In all honesty, it should prolly be Humor/Romance, but I'm lazy. Sue me. (No, please don't.) The romance wasn't supposed to come until later, since I wanted Miku and Luka to both be developed more before reaching that point. I'm aware their relationship may seem pretty strange at this point. It's actually what I've been going for, but... I'll be the first to admit I may be being far too ambitious.

Also, just in case anyone finds Miku's thought pattern strange in the last part... I actually have personal experience, or know people with personal experience, in those kinds of situations. None ever as criminal as how Miku was behaving before but... y'know, it's pretty easy to have your hopes about something cloud your judgment/perception of a given situation. Not very good. In fact, it sucks. XD

I make no promises on the future of this fic, other than that I will try my best to make sure that it's entertaining.

I... think that about takes care of my State of the Story address. XD No review responses this time, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I thank all of you for your reviews, and that you guys are a great audience! I appreciate all your reviews, and I hope'll enjoy this one as well! 'Til next time! ^_^v


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